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Ready to roll: Washington Mall shop hopes to break from the pack with cheaper cigarettes, Cuban cigars and pipes

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Holy Smokes! A new store selling roll-your-own cigarettes, pipes and more has opened in the Washington Mall. Pictured is Rebecca Conklin, a manager at The Smoke Shop.(Photo by Mark Tatem)

The Smoke Shop has opened its doors in the Washington Mall, selling everything from roll-your-own cigarettes to Cuban cigars and pipes.With cartons of top-brand-name cigarettes now retailing at $85 to $90 for a carton of ten packs, the new store gives the Island’s smokers an option for cheaper cigarettes without chemical additives.A carton of roll-your-own cigarettes costs $55 a carton at The Smoke Shop. Customers can buy the tobacco loose, select and purchase papers and filters, and then use the store’s rolling machine to roll up their own cigarettes, or staff can do this for them.Entrepreneur Michael Heslop, a partner in Fantasea Diving, is behind the innovative new business.He brought in and has installed a roll-your-own machine in the store, and also sells smaller roll-your-own machines, costing $10 up to $100.The store also sells hookah pipes and various tobacco pipes and rolling papers as well as a selection of both Cuban and Dominican cigars, including top 25 brands.“We have been quite busy since opening,” Mr Heslop said yesterday. “The business model is basically manufacturing cigarettes which are 100-percent tobacco, although we are not saying that’s healthier. We are not promoting or encouraging smoking. This is for somebody who already smokes.”The store is located in a retail space by the HSBC ATM and stairs in the Mall.The Smoke Shop is open Monday through Saturday from 9.30am to 5:30pm.

Roll-your-own: Rebecca Conklin, a manager at The Smoke Shop in the Washington Mall shows some of the machine-rolled cigarettes at the new store. (Photo by Mark Tatem)
Cheaper smokes: The roll-your-own machine at The Smoke Shop, Washington Mall. (Photo by Mark Tatem)