Micheál Martin in favour of Australia-style crackdown on vaping

In a crackdown on the tobacco industry, the Australian government has tightened its e-cigarette laws to stop an alarming rise in teenage vaping and to ensure vapes are solely used as tools to help smokers quit.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said he wants Ireland to follow Australia's lead in banning recreational vaping.

In a crackdown on the tobacco industry, the Australian government has tightened its e-cigarette laws to stop an alarming rise in teenage vaping and to ensure vapes are solely used as tools to help smokers quit.

The measures include a ban on the importation of non-prescription vaping products and restrictions on flavours, colours, and other ingredients. 

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Vape products will only be sold in pharmacies and must have pharmaceutical-like packaging, while nicotine concentrations will also be reduced. All single-use, disposable vapes will be banned.

Mr Martin, who introduced the landmark workplace smoking ban in Ireland in 2004, said he would like to see Ireland follow suit, and he is fully supportive of the view taken by the Australian government.

He said he is “amazed” that vaping products have been launched easily without proper assessment and can be placed next to sweets in shops.

“Personally, I’d be 100% with the Australian view that this is 'Big Tobacco' coming back, marketing these products in an attractive way to lure younger people, and placing them next to sweets in shops,” he told the Irish Examiner.

This is nicotine. I’ve said in the past, vaping is the revenge of tobacco after the successful efforts to curb smoking."

Vaping involves heating a liquid that contains nicotine and turning it into vapour that people inhale.

Raising awareness

Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane said he would be slow to put a ban on recreational vaping for all citizens, as it may have unintended consequences.

He said a lot of people who are coming off cigarettes turn to vaping.

Mr Cullinane said the Government should put more resources into raising awareness of vaping to ensure people are aware of the consequences.

Ban on sale to U18s

Before Christmas, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly brought a memo to Cabinet to legislate for a ban on the sale of vaping products to under-18s in Ireland, and this law is expected to come into force in the summer.

The legislation is almost finished and will be sent to President Michael D Higgins to be signed into law.

It is expected this will happen before the Dáil breaks for summer recess on July 13.

Under Mr Donnelly’s legislation, vaping advertising will not be allowed near schools, and the ban will also extend to public transport, to limit children’s exposure to commercial messages normalising or glamorising the purchase and usage of e-cigarettes.

Dangers of vaping

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 16,000 different flavours of vapes, including bubblegum and gummy bears, and there are concerns it is a gateway to smoking, as children who have vaped have been found to be five times more likely to start smoking.

A 2021 study carried out by the Health Research Board here included a sample of three schools in Cavan, Sligo, and Louth, and found most schoolchildren knew that e-cigarettes contained nicotine. 

However, it is not clear if they were aware of the risk of nicotine addiction, nor the adverse health effects of nicotine.

Last month in the US, e-cigarette maker Juul Labs agreed to pay $462m over eight years to settle claims by six states, including New York and California, that it unlawfully marketed its addictive products to minors.