COVER STORY
Your history of smoking and
quit attempts pre-vaping?
BILLY WEBB
PROHIBITION
“From garden shed, to empire...”
We sat down with Prohibition’s very
own Billy Webb, to find out more
about Britain’s fastest growing
e-liquid manufacturer.
W
hen I was around 18, it was
a time when it was really
not cool to vape. I wanted
to quit smoking and vaping was
definitely helping out. Ultimately with
the pressures at that age, cigarettes
did get the better of me. Eventually I
did succeed, with my parents being
a big influence, pushing me to make
the switch for good, they had already
kicked the habit. I’ve now not smoked
since ..well at least 2012.
How did that evolve into your
previous Smartcigs venture?
Pre 2012, we were representing an
E-Cig manufacturer from the United
States, distributing their products in
Europe. After that, with a big network
of clients it became clear what we
needed to do to bring our own product
to market. We commissioned our
own E-cigarettes and began our own
business Smartcigs, aimed at getting
people to quit smoking.
How Prohibition came to be?
In the later stages of 2014, we noticed
a massive decline in online sales, it
seemed that people would prefer to go
in store and purchase a product. I was
almost inclined to leave the industry!
After some convincing (and some
whiskey), the only way I was going
to continue was with a retail outlet.
A relaxed environment for people to
chill out, enjoy themselves and test
out the latest and greatest products.
Prohibition Vapes Co was born.
WARNING
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Interview
48 | VM22
Billy Webb