‘It’s the biggest spread of addiction this country has ever seen’: Regulatory noose tightens on vaping

“I see vaping as the revenge of the tobacco industry in terms of getting people hooked on nicotine again,” Tánaiste Micheál Martin said recently.

Vaping was supposed to help smokers wean themselves off cigarettes, or at least take nicotine in a safer way.

No doubt that is still why some people vape. But the snazzy packaging, the use of flavours such as bubblegum and birthday cake, and the ads by influencers on TikTok all indicate that vaping is now being aimed at a whole new market.

The pipes, tanks and clouds of smoke once associated with vaping are mostly gone. In their place are deft little disposables, costing about €8 each, which are convenient and easy to use. Presented as a lifestyle product, they are especially popular with retailers, who can get a margin of 30 to 40 per cent.

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Vaping involves heating a liquid which is turned into vapour and inhaled through a mouthpiece. The vapour has no tar but does contain nicotine, and so is habit-forming.

“It’s the biggest spread of addiction this country has ever seen,” says a whistleblower within the vaping industry, who declines to be named. “Hundreds of thousands of children have been hooked.”

There has certainly been an extraordinary increase in sales since the end of the pandemic. According to figures for the grocery trade compiled by Nielsen IQ, in the year ending May 2021 there were 5.6 million units of vape sold. One year later, that had jumped 44 per cent to 8.06 million. In the year ending last month, that figure had more than trebled to 26.3 million sales.

“It’s a big jump,” says Ruth Lloyd-Evans, senior insight manager at Nielsen IQ. “To put that increase in context, cigarette pack sales were at 94 million units last year, and 80 million this latest 52 weeks. So it’s likely that growth in vape sales is a combination of people trading out of cigarettes into vapes, and new consumers buying into the category.

“In addition, the number of stores selling these products has increased compared to a year ago, while the range and availability of product has also increased.”

[ If you think banning the sale of vapes to children will work, think again ]

[ Government considers ‘deposit and return’ scheme for disposable vapes ]

The value of vapes sold in the Republic in the year to May was more than €200 million, according to Nielsen IQ, but that just covers multiples such as the big supermarket chains, symbol groups (convenience stores) and forecourt retailers. The true value is much higher once you add in independent vaping shops and online sales.

Big Tobacco

So the Tánaiste was right about the increased popularity of vaping, but possibly not about the traditional tobacco industry, which controls only a sliver of the market. During a recent Dáil debate about a proposal to ban the sale of vapes to people under the age of 18, there were many references to Big Tobacco, but the most popular brand, Lost Mary, was never mentioned, and the next most popular, Elfbar, was mentioned once.

Both of these fruity and colourful vapes are manufactured in China and distributed in Ireland by Creative Distribution, part of Hale Vaping, a company set up seven years ago by brothers Stuart and Declan Fagan, whose business career started with a pop-up Halloween shop on Patrick Street in Cork.

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Their first three vaping stores, in Carlow and Dublin, opened in 2013. Hale also developed a vape liquid, which is now produced at a plant in Carlow.

The company operates more than 70 stores in Ireland, about half as franchises, while its products are sold by more than 2,500 retailers. This year Hale expects sales of at least €120 million, with industry insiders saying Lost Mary and Elfbar account for up to 90 per cent of sales of disposable vapes, which now dominate the vaping market. “Hale has disposable sewn up,” says a rival.

The balance of power within vaping was graphically illustrated by the recent defection of Simon Carroll as country manager of British American Tobacco in Ireland to become managing director of Hale. Andy McCue, a former chief executive of Paddy Power, became its non-executive chairman.

“It is a big misconception that tobacco companies are running the vape industry,” says Eoin O’Boyle, who has managed an independent vape shop in Drogheda for four years. “Most shops like mine don’t stock a lot of products made by tobacco companies. I only have two out of thousands. The largest vapes – such as IVG, Elfbar and Aspire – are not owned [by] or affiliated with tobacco companies.”

[ Vaping to be banned in Ireland for under-18s by mid-July ]

John Player & Sons, which has been in Ireland since 1924 and once employed thousands at its Dublin factory, now has a workforce of a few dozen. Its parent company is Imperial Brands, with headquarters in Bristol. Blu, launched in June 2019, was its attempt to get a foothold in the Irish vape market. “They took it off again, because it was doing nothing,” says an industry source.

Imperial is now making a second attempt, recently launching the disposable vape Blu Bar. Rivals are unconcerned. “All the global players in the tobacco industry are far behind the curve on vaping,” says the industry source.

A spokeswoman for John Player said: “We estimate that tobacco companies in Ireland have less than 10 per cent market share, as Elfbar and Lost Mary dominate, and these brands are not owned or distributed by tobacco companies but by Hale Vaping/Creative Distribution.”

Industry threats

There are two existential threats facing the vaping sector: the growing concern about teenagers getting hooked on nicotine, and the environmental problem of disposable vapes being dumped at the end of their short lifespan. Each of them has a tiny battery and, being imported from China, already has a sizeable carbon footprint before use.

The batteries and their lithium can bleed into the ground, leaving a toxic residue. Vapes also contain manganese, nickel and cobalt, which could all be reused. Yet a serious effort at recycling has only just begun.

A survey published on June 13th by the European Recycling Platform, a compliance scheme for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and waste batteries, found confusion among consumers about how to dispose of vapes. One in 10 people said they vaped, suggesting the number of active vapers in the Republic could be up to 500,000, and two-thirds of them disposed of vapes improperly. Almost half mistakenly thought used vapes could be thrown in a general refuse bin.

Disposable devices also support many smokers trying to quit smoking

—  Hale Vaping

Ossian Smyth, the Green Party Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, recently launched a public consultation to help inform a policy response to deal with the rising carpet of dumped vapes. Smyth said the potential policy options are a ban on the manufacture, sale, distribution or free offer of disposable vapes; establishing a deposit and return system, or improving producer responsibility by creating a register.

Given that anyone can set up a vaping business and import them, we should certainly expect more restrictions on sales. The ban on selling to under-18s is uncontroversial – in fact both retailers and distributors welcome it.

“I want an outright ban on sales to those under 18,” said O’Boyle. “Never in my five years being open have I sold to a minor. We have always asked for ID. But at the moment there are no repercussions for those who do sell to minors. Once the law is in place, it will help to curb the problem with youth vaping.

“Also, the new retail licensing system will mean only licensed shops will be allowed to sell vaping products. This should reduce the number of illegal products entering the market, with the right enforcement.”

[ ‘Everybody is vaping because everybody else is vaping’ ]

Critics of vaping don’t want to stop there, however. They propose banning both disposables and exotic flavours, which they believe are aimed at the youth market. The Irish Heart Foundation says it is deeply concerned about the rise of e-cigarette use among teenagers, which it sees as a gateway to smoking. After decades of decline, the smoking rate among teenagers rose from 13 per cent in 2015 to 14.4 per cent in 2019, it says.

“This is deeply troubling and the Government needs to take action to protect young people, beginning with banning all forms of disposable vapes,” the foundation says. “It should also ban all e-cigarette flavours, bar tobacco.

“In Ireland, e-cigarettes are mainly used by those under 25, and with over 16,000 unique flavours available, it is simply disingenuous for companies to claim that adults who have smoked tobacco for years need flavours like banoffee pie or tutti-frutti to quit cigarettes. E-cigarettes in a variety of exotic, sweet flavours, such as marshmallow, slushie, and even energy drink, which are then wrapped in bright, colourful packaging to resemble a box of sweets, are designed specifically to appeal to children and teenagers, as opposed to seasoned adult smokers, as big brands claim.

“Meanwhile, young people are constantly faced with e-cigarette promotion online through insidious methods that circumvent the legislation, using hashtags such as #vapelife and #elfbar.”

This is where we can expect pushback from the vaping companies. Vape Business Ireland, an industry representative body, supports the ban on selling vapes to under-18s, but claims that vaping has enabled more than 200,000 adults to move away from smoking. “We feel it is crucial that lawmakers acknowledge the role of vaping as a harm-reduction tool for adult ex-smokers, and we encourage the Oireachtas to look to other countries in this respect,” it said.

In what could be seen as a warning to the Government, Vape Business Ireland said it “remains vigilant” as the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill goes through the Oireachtas, “and we will engage constructively to ensure that the law continues to recognise the 200,000 former smokers who rely on vaping”.

Would you believe that disposable vapes are even being sold in butchers’ shops in my constituency?

—  Duncan Smith, Labour TD

In a statement, Hale Vaping said: “We are concerned at proposals included in the current consultation to ban disposable devices. We do not believe it will be effective and will likely give rise to a significant market in illicit, non-compliant products. There are alternative approaches to addressing environmental concerns that the vaping sector is actively progressing. Disposable devices also support many smokers trying to quit smoking.”

Rather than banning vaping products, the Government might instead attempt to suppress sales by slapping excise duties on imports, as they do on traditional cigarettes. The spokeswoman for John Player points out that an excise system would increase control over the vape market, and help enforcement.

“This would empower the State to monitor and control movement of product into the country,” she said. “Like other EU countries, tax could be applied on a per ml basis, at a low or zero level, which would not dissuade smokers from transitioning to vape products. One in five smokers use vapes to give up smoking, so the harm-reduction potential of vaping should be seized.”

The Bill, expected to pass in the autumn, will force retailers to apply for an annual licence to sell vapes, and will prohibit sales from self-service vending machines or pop-up stores. The new licensing system should certainly lead to a reduction in the number of outlets offering vapes for sale.

In the recent Dáil debate on vaping, Duncan Smith, a Labour TD for Dublin Fingal, said: “We see them being sold in petrol stations and in many shops. Would you believe that disposable vapes are even being sold in butchers’ shops in my constituency?”

The days of buying vapes with your veal are surely numbered.