Vaping is the “revenge of the tobacco industry”, the Taoiseach has said, as he welcomed proposals brought to Cabinet on Tuesday that would see restrictions placed on single-use vapes.
The sale of disposable vapes in the State will be banned under proposals due to be brought by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to Cabinet on Tuesday.
There are also plans to restrict the sale of flavours which often appeal to children, as well as for a ban on point-of-sale advertising displays in shops other than specialised outlets that only sell vapes.
Speaking to his way into Cabinet on Tuesday morning, Taoiseach Simon Harris said that action was required in tackling the uptake of vaping among young people. “We live in a country where around 13 per cent of people between the ages of 12 and 17 have vaped in the last 30 days. We need to take action in relation to that,” he said.
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“I’ve said for a long time – I said when I was health minister, I believe it as Taoiseach, that vaping is the revenge of the tobacco industry.”
Speaking to reporters before the Cabinet meeting, Mr Donnelly said the proposals are aimed at protecting children. “In my view, these [vape] companies are very cynically targeting children. There’s over 15,000 flavours. We know some of them are targeted at children,” he said. “We know a lot of the colouring and the packaging is targeted at children and young people.”
The proposed legislation, Mr Donnelly said, would impose a gradual ban on vape flavours. “We’d be starting with just one flavour, but the minister of the day could expand that if required,” he said. “A ban on some of the colour around the packaging and the products themselves, restrictions on point of sale as well.”
He said that, if a general election is held in March as has been touted by Coalition leaders, his department would be “certainly pushed” to have the Bill in question fully drafted.
Tánaiste Michéal Martin also spoke in support of the proposed ban. “We really need to protect younger people, in particular, from the harmful effects of vaping.”
The new measures will introduce “serious restrictions” but it will be a “step-by-step” process, Minister of State for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Colm Burke has said.
There needs to be a change to the way in which nicotine-inhaling products are sold, Mr Burke told Newstalk Breakfast on Tuesday.
“As you were aware 18 per cent of 15- to 24-year-olds will regularly use nicotine-inhaling products. There’s a need to bring about a change. We’ve an increased level of asthma. And this [vaping] also can lead on to smoking.”
“The memo that the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will bring to Cabinet today is about regulating the sale of such products,” he said. “The measures will also include regulations about packaging and point-of-sale display. The disposal of vaping products will also be covered in the regulations.”
Mr Burke added that he understood specific regulations would be brought in about flavoured vaping products. “It’s about making it less attractive.”
The reason for regulations was that many people who used vaping products subsequently moved on to smoking, and Ireland was one of a number of countries in Europe introducing such regulations, Mr Burke said.
It was important to come up with a response as Ireland had done when it introduced the smoking ban.
The regulations will introduce serious restrictions, but they were “not going to come in overnight” and would happen over a period of time, he said.
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