Vaping: legislation for under 18s - too little and very late

How dangerous is vaping? Outside every school and college there are clouds of watermelon or strawberry scented steam, while brightly-coloured toy-like used vapes litter parks and playgrounds.

One study found that 15.5 per cent of 15-16-year-olds have vaped in the last 30 days. While e-cigarettes and vapes have been readily available for about 10 years in Ireland there has been little legislation governing their sale.

Next month the Government will introduce legislation to ban the sale of vaping products to those under 18.

That no such legislation already exists will come as a surprise to many, especially as it is now widely understood that a mix of chemicals, including highly addictive nicotine, are in vapes and that vaping should not be seen as a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.

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ABC journalist Tom Lowrey explains how Australia already had some of the most restrictive vaping rules in the world when it tightened them even further in May banning all recreational vaping – now vapes are only available on prescription. RCSI professor Donal O’Shea explains how damaging to health this apparently benign looking and smelling product is and why this first legislative step is good but why the Government needs to go much, much further to protect the health particularly of teenagers and young adults. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and John Casey with additional research by Katie Mellett.