Revenue seize over €425k of illegal vapes containing psychoactive drugs in six years

The introduction of the E-Liquid Products Tax last November has raised more than €20.2m in the first six months, with 79 suppliers currently registered for the levy. Picture: iStock

More than €425,000 worth of illegal vaping products containing psychoactive drugs have been seized by the Revenue Commissioners in the past six years, new figures have revealed.

A total of 470 seizures of vaping products containing semi-synthetic cannabinoids were carried out during that period, yielding almost 33,000 grams of the illicit substances.

The figures show a large spike in activity during the first five months of this year, with 169 seizures valued at just under €300,000 recorded between January and May.

This is the same number that took place during the whole of 2025, when €66,247 worth of vaping products containing illegal drugs such as Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) were seized.

By contrast, the Revenue Commissioners reported just seven such seizures in 2022 with a total value of €2,365, indicating substantial growth in the prevalence of illicit vapes in the past four years.

The data was published by Tánaiste and finance minister Simon Harris in response to a series of parliamentary questions from Ken O'Flynn TD, who questioned the State’s oversight of the e-cigarette market.

Mr Harris revealed that the introduction of the E-Liquid Products Tax last November had raised more than €20.2m in the first six months, with 79 suppliers currently registered for the levy.

“At present, there is not yet an EU-wide tax regime for e-liquid products. Therefore, many member states, including Ireland, have introduced their own national excises on these products for health policy reasons,” he said.

He noted that a proposal published by the EU Commission in July 2025 to recast the Tobacco Taxation Directive could eventually bring e-liquids under an EU-wide Excise Movement and Control System to regulate product movements.

While Revenue handles products containing controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, it has no independent authority to seize standard nicotine vapes that are untaxed or non-compliant with health regulations.

These consignments must be referred to the HSE, and Revenue can only seize these non-compliant nicotine shipments if they receive a specific prohibition order from the HSE, Mr Harris said.

The EU Drugs Agency (Euda) this week outlined concerns that vapes could be used by gangs to push synthetic opioids into the drugs market.

"Vapes containing other substances, such as synthetic and semi-synthetic forms of cannabis, have been seized in EU member states, raising concerns that they may become a vehicle for other harmful substances, potentially including new synthetic opioids," it said.