LAST UPDATE | 10 Sep
CABINET HAS APPROVED legislation brought forward by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to ban the sale of disposable vapes in Ireland.
Under the Nicotine Inhaling Products Bill, there will be a complete ban on the sale, manufacture or import of single-use or disposable vapes in Ireland.
There will also be a restriction on the sale of flavours which appeal to children, as well as a ban on point of sale advertising displays in shops.
Colours and imagery on packaging and devices will also be restricted, while devices resembling or functioning as other products, such as toys or games, will also be banned.
Ahead of the Cabinet meeting this morning, Donnelly told reporters that he believed the Government would be able to implement the ban, if the general election is held in March “as has been said by party leaders”.
Originally seen as a healthier option for adults who are addicted to cigarettes, e-cigarettes – or “vapes” – have grown more popular in recent years, particularly among younger people.
While the industry has long claimed its products are a less harmful way to help people quit smoking, Irish health authorities have for many years advocated a precautionary approach, particularly due to the presence of highly addictive nicotine.
Single-use vapes are relatively inexpensive and are often an impulse purchase in shops. They are also difficult to recycle and some use lithium-ion batteries which can overheat and catch fire, making them a hazard to waste collection workers and others.
Speaking to media this afternoon, Donnelly said the measures have been introduced on health and environmental groups.
However, he admitted that disposable vapes can still be purchased online and brought into the state.
“The Bill that I brought to Cabinet today is a ban on disposable vapes, it has a restriction on flavours and is going down to one flavour and that can be increased by a minister through legislation,” he said.
“We are moving to plain packaging and we are moving to remove the point of sale.”
Donnelly said that the State is banning around 16,000 flavours of disposable vapes, adding that flavourings such as bubble gum is a “very deliberate and cynical” targeting of children.
“When you walk into a newsagents or petrol station, we are bombarded with bright colours and (images) of bubble gum flavours,” he said.
“In terms of banning disposable vapes, there is the added benefit of the environmental benefit. We see the vapes around on the ground.”
In May, a study published by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland found that many of the chemicals used to flavour vapes are harmful once heated for inhalation.
The proposal has been welcomed by the Irish Heart Foundation. The Charity’s Director of Advocacy Chris Macey said that the new laws would make Ireland the best-protected company in the World against the tobacco industry.
“Minister Donnelly’s stance, supported by the Government, can have major long-term implications in sparring huge numbers of young people from the grip of nicotine addiction,” he said.
The Government is also considering what level of taxation should be introduced on e-cigarettes as part of Budget 2025. Currently, VAT is charged on e-cigarette products but they do not have excise duty levied on them like normal cigarettes.
It is expected that the rate will be somewhere between 10c and 30c per millilitre of liquid in the vape or e-cigarette.
Donnelly said he would also like to speak to Finance Minister Jack Chambers about the introduction of tax on vaping products.
While VAR is charged on vaping products, they do not have excise duty placed on them.
“It’s certainly a conversation I would like to have with Minister Chambers. We want to make sure it works from a public health perspective,” he added.
“It’s a conversation I will look forward to having and I will be supportive of any measure that has a public health benefit to it.”
A ban on the sale of nicotine-inhaling products to people under 18 came into effect in December last year. A range of other curbs on advertising, pop-up shop sales and a ban of sale from vending machines will commence next year.
Donnelly described the stance the Government was taking as “a pretty radical new approach”.
“Between the Act that’s already passed and the Bill that I brought to Cabinet today, it represents a pretty radical move, from a public health perspective in terms of keeping children safe.”
The bill received support from Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin this morning. Both leaders expressed a need, in their view, to tackle the issue.
“I’m pleased that we will see proposals in relation to single-use vapes,” the Taoiseach told reporters today. “I’ve said for a long time – I said when I was Health Minister and I believe this as Taoiseach – that vaping is the revenge of the tobacco industry.”
“We live in a country where around 13% of people between the ages of 12 and 17 have vaped in the last 30 days. We need to take action in relation to that,” Harris added.
Martin took a similar view on the sale of vapes by large tobacco companies. The Foreign Affairs minister, who served as health minister when the smoking ban was introduced in 2004.
“I’ve long fought for and pursued the issue of vaping. I think it is smoking mark two in terms of the health of the nation, and we really need to protect younger people in particular from the harmful effects of vaping,” he said today.
Close to 85% of respondents to a public consultation on disposable vapes last year supported banning their use.
Donnelly also updated Cabinet on the projected increases in the number of GPs that will be working in Ireland over the coming years.
He highlighted that there has been an 80% increase in training places during the life of this Government, which is resulting in one-and-a-half to three GPs entering practice for every expected retirement.
The Department said estimates also show that the current level of just over seven GPs per 10,000 population will increase to between nine and ten per 10,000.
There has been a 7% increase in the number of GPs with a public contract since 2018 and this is set to increase further in the coming years with the increasing number of GPs qualifying.
There has also been over 1,300 applications for the 350 GP training places this year.
The Minister also told Cabinet that the 2019 and 2023 GP Agreements have also substantially increased the fees and practice supports paid by the State under the GMS contract, making working in general practice more attractive.
Recruitment of GPs from abroad is ongoing under the International Medical Graduate Rural GP Programme, with over 120 such GPs having commenced in practice.
According to the Department, more than half of people living in Ireland are now eligible for free GP care through a medical card or a GP visit card.
Includes reporting by Muiris O’Cearbhaill and Press Association
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