Savvy Smoker, a new smoke shop, was recently opened in Westport, adding to the increased amount of smoke and vape shops in town and inciting a controversial stir of opinions.
Westport now has four smoke shops: Mohegan Smoke Shop, Westport Cigar and Vape, M and S Convenience and now Savvy Smoker. Recently, some have been caught selling illegal THC substances and violating town signage policies.
Due to this and other factors, the new additions of Savvy and others have faced some backlash.
“It’s so bad,” Avery Johnson ’25 said. “Every single corner I turn there just seems to be another smoke shop. Savvy Smoker replaced the Westport Subway, what happened to our fresh subs?”
People are going to get their smoke devices anyway, so it is safer for people to use these smoke shops instead of elsewhere.
— Shane Sandrew ’25
Students are not the only ones speaking out against these new additions to our town. Some find these shops add to the public health crisis of vaping, and seek to prohibit them. According to Ct Insider, the Planning and Zoning Commission has begun discussing a potential ban on smoke shops in Westport, preventing new businesses from coming in, specifically shops with 20% or more inventory related to vaping and tobacco.
While many oppose these shops, some feel more neutral about them and their impact on the community.
“I’m not necessarily against them because it doesn’t affect me really,” Brooke Shaugnessy ’26 said. “It is right next to a high end fashion store, and I think the contrast between that and a smoke shop is kind of funny.”
Others argue against the attempts to ban the stores, recognizing the value shops like these could possibly provide.
“If they’re properly checking IDs, they don’t harm our community,” Shane Sandrew ’25 said. “People are going to get their smoke devices anyway, so it is safer for people to use these smoke shops instead of elsewhere.”
