Donnelly: No plan to ban sale of alcohol to under-21s despite move on cigarettes

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly (Picture: Brian Lawless/PA)

A future all-out ban on smoking cannot be ruled out, the Health Minister has said.

Stephen Donnelly was speaking as he confirmed that Cabinet had approved a plan to see the age of sale for cigarettes from 18 to 21.

Mr Donnelly said that the move would make Ireland a world leader, but said that plans to progressively ban smoking entirely could not be pursued presently as it would breach EU rules.

Stephen Donnelly said there is no clinical advice that banning the sale of alcohol to under 21s is necessarily effective (Yui Mok/PA)

Last October, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he believes anyone born after 2009 should not be legally able to ever buy a cigarette. 

He said more must be done to “try and stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place” as he set out plans to introduce a new law banning tobacco sales to anybody born on or after January 1 2009.

Mr Donnelly said that the Government here had examined following that lead, but was advised it could breach single-market rules. 

The Minister said that the proposal is designed to accelerate the goal of reducing Ireland’s adult smoking rate to less than 5%. 

Currently, around 18% of the population over the age of 15 are smokers and Mr Donnelly said that legal advice suggests Ireland cannot pursue a ‘smokefree generation’ policy as has been suggested in other jurisdictions due to the EU’s Single Market rules and Tobacco Products Directive.

"We did look at that. And the very clear legal advice we got at the time was that it would not be in compliance with single-market rules and regulations. However, I asked my department to engage with the EU and there is an ongoing review of the EU's position on that so I wouldn't rule anything like that out in the future. It would be a matter for a future government.

"For now we want to do what we know we can get through and what we know will have an immediate effect in terms of smoking rates, particularly younger people smoking and moving from 18 to 21 is exactly that we'd be the first EU country to do it."

Smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke kills an estimated 4,500 people per year in Ireland, Mr Donnelly said.

Ministers aim to reduce Ireland’s adult smoking rate to less than 5% (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Mr Donnelly confirmed that staff in shops will still be able to sell cigarettes if they are aged 18 to 20.

Mr Donnelly also denied that there is an inconsistency between telling 18- to 20-year-olds that they can buy alcohol, but not tobacco. He said that Ireland has a long-term strategy of becoming tobacco-free, but that no such policy exists for alcohol.

The proposed legislation will not impact the minimum legal age of sale of nicotine-inhaling products or vapes, though Mr Donnelly said that vaping was the tobacco industry's attempt to get around smoking bans.

Since December, the sale of vapes to under 18s has been banned, but there is currently no proposal to extend this ban to the age of 21, Mr Donnelly said, citing clinical advice.

"My view rightly or wrongly, is that vaping is the big tobacco companies coming and having another go.

"We have ongoing and emerging evidence of the harms that vaping causes including damage to the lungs for example. I was very proud to be able to move the age up to 18 in terms of sale. We have also introduced other measures, some which have come into effect in December around advertising and licencing systems next year. And then we're also working on a range of other measures...on the ban on disposable vapes. And we're also drafting legislation looking at colours and flavouring.

"Again my view, rightly or wrongly is there has been a very cynical attempt to target young people with vapes."