Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has been given the go-ahead by Cabinet to draft legislation to ban the sale of disposable vapes and further restrict the sale of refillable vaping products. It follows the banning of sales to under 18s last December and is part of a wider campaign to reduce smoking.
Some 4,500 people in Ireland die each year from smoking-related illnesses, most of them related to chemicals contained in tobacco. Vapes – which only dispense nicotine – may do less harm in this respect, but research cited by the Minister found that 18 per cent of under-18s who use vapes will go on to to become smokers.
The long-term effect of vaping is as yet unknown but there is research showing a detrimental effect on young people’s mental and physical health. Some of the by products are also potentially carcinogenic.
From a public health perspective there is more than ample evidence to support the banning of disposable vapes which the government believes are deliberately targeted at under-18s. The argument is really whether the Minister has gone far enough by stopping short of an outright ban on vaping.
Instead, he has announced a range of measures aimed at combating the marketing of refillable vapes at young people. These include restrictions on colour, imagery and design. There will also be limits on flavours and the names of flavours. The intention is to have only one flavour: tobacco.
The planned law is in line with that proposed elsewhere in the EU. Belgium will ban disposable vapes from next year and the French health minster this month announced a plan to ban them.
The Labour government in the UK says it will proceed with restrictions promised by the outgoing administration which are similar to Donnelly’s proposal. This will simplify the implementation of the new restrictions here but as with any ban, enforcement is crucial. A review of the effectiveness of the current regime should inform the drafting of the new legislation.