Government to ban single-use vapes and introduce plain packaging in new crackdown

The first law will be used to ban the sale of single-use vapes. File photo

The Government is to ban the advertisement of vapes behind shop counters, mandate plain packaging and outlaw single-use vapes, as new laws are prepared to bring them in line with cigarette packaging.

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is to introduce new legislation as part of a clampdown on the industry. The proposals are being introduced through two separate laws. The first will be used to ban the sale of single-use vapes.

The second will move to restrict the packaging of vaping products, with particular focus on the colours and imagery both on boxes and the vapes themselves.

The law will also restrict the flavours available for sale and “prohibit all flavour descriptors and language other than basic flavour names”. Point-of-sale displays and advertisements within shops will also be barred, except in specialist stores.

This means they will be kept out of view, similarly to how cigarettes and other tobacco products are stored. Bans will also be placed on any device which either resembles or functions as other products, such as toys or games.

One Government source said the laws were being prepared as a response to the tobacco industry “innovating beyond all measures” used to restrict the sale of cigarettes.

The previous Government introduced restrictions on the sale of vapes, including rules that they could not be sold to under-18s as well as advertising restrictions near schools, on public transport and in cinemas.

A licencing system for the sale of tobacco and vaping products is also due to come into effect next February. The sale of vapes and cigarettes via vending machines will also be outlawed from next month.

Vape tax

It comes as a delayed tax on vape liquid is likely to be introduced before the end of the year, having been announced as part of Budget 2025. This will see a tax of 50c per millilitre applied to e-liquids.

For single-use vapes, there is around 2ml of e-liquid and they cost a total of €8. Including VAT, it is expected the price of a disposable vape will rise to €9.23.

A spokesperson for finance minister Paschal Donohoe previously confirmed that works on the tax were at an advanced stage.

“Preparations for the development of secure and functional IT systems, registration processes, compliance checks and operational supports to ensure the tax is collected efficiently and fairly are well advanced and remain on course for E-Liquid Products Tax to come into effect in the coming period,” the spokesperson said.

Nicotine pouches

While the Government is taking action on vapes, it is not expected to move on nicotine pouches in the immediate future.

A spokesperson for Ms Carroll MacNeill said EU-wide legislation would be “more effective than unilateral action by member states”.

“For that reason, the Minister for Health has formally called on the EU Commission to propose a revised Tobacco Products Directive as soon as possible, and for that proposal to cover all new nicotine products such as pouches in order to protect our young people,” the spokesperson said.

It is understood Ms Carroll MacNeill is seeking to progress an updated directive as part of Ireland’s EU presidency – which is due to begin in July 2026.