Policy to ban sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s

The Government has agreed a policy to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to children under 18 years of age and the use of tobacco vending machines around the country.

Ministers agreed the policy with a view to introducing legislation during the lifetime of this Government. Retailers will also be required for the first time to have and pay for a licence to sell related products, the Cabinet agreed yesterday.

At present, there are no regulations governing e-cigarettes and there has been limited research about their effect on people’s health. A Government spokesman said that there would be further discussions before the policy was signed off on.

This would include how e-cigarettes are sold in shops and how retailers are charged.

Health Minister James Reilly has made changes to smoking laws in Ireland a key part of his portfolio. He has produced plans to reduce the number of smokers in the next 12 years.

This includes an aim to reduce the proportion of the population who smoke to just 5% by 2025.

Minister Reilly has previously said that he does not believe that smokeless cigarettes are safe.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated products that turn nicotine into a vapour inhaled by the user. Britain has already announced that it will control the sale of e-cigarettes by classifying them as medicines and making them available only over-the-counter.

Currently, there are no regulations controlling the sale or advertising of e-cigarettes in Ireland and they are widely available in some shops and online.

There are currently over 7,000 self-service tobacco vending machines in Ireland, which are part of the 13,000 retail units selling tobacco products. Self-service vending machines will now be banned, under future legislation.

A new licensing regime for tobacco sellers will also replace the once-off €50 charge that currently applies.

New penalties will also be drawn up for offending retailers for breaching the new laws, a spokesman for Minister Reilly explained.