Investigates smoke screenVAPES CAN BE picked up, often for less than a tenner, in every town and village.
In a few short years, they grew from a new to a common product, easy to buy no matter where you live in Ireland.
So when you hand over your tenner at the till, who is profiting?
The Journal Investigates dug into lobbying records, company accounts, shareholder reports and other statements to find, not too deep under the surface, the tobacco industry.
Today, we can reveal that Irish tobacco businesses are increasingly turning to vaping as a way to mitigate falling sales from smoking.
That is according to accounts for the three main tobacco companies that sell e-cigarettes in Ireland as well as various other company statements that The Journal Investigates has examined.
This includes PJ Carroll, one of Ireland’s largest tobacco companies, partly attributing the doubling of its profits in 2023 to rising vape and e-cigarette sales. It recorded €5 million in profits that year.
British American Tobacco (BAT), the company behind PJ Carroll, said it intends for ‘Smokeless Products’ to account for 50% of group revenues by 2035.
JTI Ireland, Ireland’s biggest tobacco company, has also said it has increasingly offered vaping products as a response to consumer demand.
Imperial Tobacco, the other main player in the Irish market, noted that tighter vape regulations could impact its Irish business. Internationally, the UK-based company’s shares have also hit a five-year high recently, something widely attributed to booming vape sales.
None of the three tobacco businesses give detailed revenue breakdowns which would show what percentage of their Irish revenue e-cigarettes accounts for, although they have all previously identified vaping as a growth business area.
These companies have said that their aim in selling more vaping products is to, as BAT put it, “actively migrate adult smokers”.
It comes as PJ Carroll, JTI Ireland and John Player & Sons all maintained profitability in 2023, with some paying out large dividends to shareholders. But they also flagged falling tobacco cigarette sales.
PJ Carroll, JTI Ireland and tobacco industry group, the Irish Tobacco Manufacturers’ Advisory Committee (Itmac) all also participated in a recent government consultation on the regulation of vapes.
Though all three are strongly against the sale of vape and e-cigarette products to minors — a new law banning vape sales to under 18s came into force in December 2023 — they did lobby against other restrictions.
Submissions we obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show how they discouraged the introduction of overly restrictive measures on their sales, such as tighter rules on how e-cigarettes can be displayed in retail shops.
Vaping has become profitable for many businesses, with several vaping companies recording strong profit increases in 2023 compared to 2022.
But some vaping firms which do not sell tobacco have said they are concerned about the association between their business and smoking.
Accounts for the tobacco companies operating in Ireland show that while they are still making strong profits, cigarette revenue is declining.
PJ Carroll & Company Ltd accounts show the company had revenue of €30.5m in 2023, up from €28.5m the year before.
The company said the improved performance was “driven by combustible and vapour brand portfolios”. The accounts said “in an extremely competitive vapour market driven mainly by disposables”, P Carroll’s Vapour Category performance delivered 22% of total revenue.
The popular vaping brand Vuse is made by PJ Carroll. It also makes Carrolls and Major cigarette brands.
In a statement, BAT told The Journal Investigates that the company’s “global strategic aim is to actively migrate adult smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, from cigarettes to smokeless products.
Our ambition remains to have our smokeless products reaching at least 50% of our revenues by 2035.
“We are making further progress increasing profitability across our Smokeless Products and we are on track to deliver our 2024 guidance.
“BAT is a strong advocate for the introduction of regulation that prevents the underage from accessing vapes.”
The company did not declare a dividend in 2023, although shareholders received a €7 million payment in 2022.
The Irish arm of Japan Tobacco International, one of the world’s largest tobacco manufacturers with brands like Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut and Camel, continues to be the largest player in the country.
Shareholders are reaping the benefits of multiple years of strong profits. The Irish arm of the company paid out a €70 million dividend in 2023, a repeat of its 2022 payout, after building up strong profits in previous years.
JTI Ireland recorded revenues of €733 million in 2023, down from €778 million. A note in the accounts said this was “driven by a decline in the market size for tobacco products”.
But profits remained stable, at €41 million, compared to €40.8 million in 2022. JTI Ireland said “lower operating costs” helped it maintain profitability in the face of falling sales.
However, the 2023 accounts show that the company is concerned about future profitability, stating:
The overall cigarette market decreased by -11.8% over the previous financial year.
JTI Ireland’s 2023 accounts did not specifically reference vape sales. However, the company has advertised that “reduced risk” products are a major part of its business, with the firm operating the likes of the Logic Vape brand.
In a statement, JTI Ireland said: “The vaping market in Ireland has grown in recent years. Our Logic vaping products are a response to this demand.”
However, the company added that “the overall vape category contracted in 2024 compared to 2023”.
“We do not publish internal forecasts for reasons of commercial sensitivity,” it said.
“However, it is likely that the vaping category will see significant disruption in 2025 if proposed new regulations are implemented. This would potentially include a ban on flavours other than tobacco and a ban on single-use vapes, amongst other restrictions.”
Shareholders also got a bumper payout at John Player & Sons. The Irish company is part of UK-based Imperial Brands, one of the world’s largest tobacco businesses. It is behind the vape brand Blu.
It paid out a €40 million dividend in 2023 after recording sales of €55.4 million in 2023, up slightly from €53.2 million the previous year. Profits rose from €12 million to €13.7 million during that period.
In its accounts, the company said the total cigarette market in Ireland “declined by 14%” during its 2023 financial year, following a 15% drop in 2022.
John Player added that it may have to contribute to the cost of a “producer-responsibility scheme for vape products” and added that it expects “significant regulatory changes” to impact both tobacco and vape products.
The accounts were filed at the start of 2024, when the government had signalled that it would introduce excise duty on vaping products.
In October, excise duty of €0.50 on e-liquids was introduced as part of Budget 2025 flagged as a tax “on public health grounds” due to the “significant rise in [the] use” of e-cigarettes.
Shares in Imperial Brands, which own John Player, have doubled in value since the end of 2019 and hit a five year high in October. This was widely attributed to the boom in vape sales.
Sales of the company’s so-called next generation products – which includes vapes, heated tobacco products and oral nicotine pouches – surged by 26% in the 12 months to the end of September.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
These three tobacco companies also responded to a recent government consultation on vaping, urging against tighter sales regulations.
These three firms – BAT, JTI and Imperial Tobacco – also comprise the membership of Itmac, the tobacco lobbying group, which made similar comments.
The consultation looked at potential measures to decrease the appeal of nicotine inhaling products. After receiving feedback, the government announced that it would regulate the display and advertisement of vapes in shops, the flavours of vape liquids and ban single-use vapes.
In September, at the announcement of the proposed measures, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said:
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,” Taoiseach Simon Harris added.
During the consultation, the three tobacco companies made a number of reservations known to the government, which is evident in submissions obtained by The Journal Investigates from the Department of Health through a FOI request.
For example, Itmac, which represents all three firms, said restrictions on the display of vapes in shops would be “anti-competitive”, favouring businesses which already have well-known brands.
It said this could “discourage manufacturers from investing in product improvements and innovation”, and instead suggested “a restricted display area for vape products at retailers, similar to the restrictions imposed on alcohol.
“The ability to display vape products and communicate with adult consumers, albeit on a limited basis, would go some way to addressing competition issues which would arise in the event of a full display ban,” it said.
Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ lobby group Forest, who receives “donations from tobacco companies in the UK and Ireland” but told us “cannot speak on their behalf” said: “Vaping has been a free market success story.
“Instead of obsessing about the motives of a legitimate industry, public health campaigners should work with the industry for the long-term benefit of adults who enjoy consuming nicotine.”
While numerous vape businesses have long claimed they 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.
“It’s essential for the government to acknowledge the harm reduction benefits of vaping compared to smoking,” Alex Pescar, managing director of Ecirette Wholesale, told The Journal Investigates. Pescar is also the founding member of the Irish Vape Vendors Association (IVVA).
Although many in the industry have promoted e-cigarettes as a harm reduction device, others carry disclaimers on their websites.
For example, Hale Vaping’s website states: “We make no claim that our products help to quit smoking. Our products are intended for use by existing smokers aged 18 years or over as an alternative to tobacco cigarettes.”
In May, a study published by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) found that many of the chemicals used to flavour vapes are harmful once heated for inhalation.
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.
Close to 85% of respondents to a public consultation on disposable vapes in 2023 supported banning their use.
Accounts for various Irish vape businesses operating in Ireland, which are not tobacco companies, also point to the profitability of e-cigarette products.
There has been a huge proliferation of companies operating in this space in Ireland in recent years. The Journal Investigates team quickly found over 50 names of various businesses, with many more selling e-cigarettes in shops around the country.
Hale Vaping, a leading Irish vaping distributor and retailer, recorded revenues of €18.7m in 2021, the most recent year for which fillings are available, up from €13.2 million in 2020. Profits more than doubled, rising from €1.2 million to €3.2 million, while a €500,000 dividend was paid out to backers.
The company has grown significantly since then. In 2021, Hale Vaping merged with fellow e-cigarette retailer VIP.
The combined company has not filed updated accounts since the merger, but last year, the Irish Times reported that the combined Hale Vaping business expected “sales of at least €120 million” in 2023 and operates more than 70 stores in Ireland.
The Vape Escape, a prominent vaping business based in Swords, Dublin, recorded profits of more than €500,000, compared to only €62,000 in 2022, while Cork-based E-Smoke Store recorded profits of slightly more than €500,000 in 2023 versus €412,000 in 2022.
Dublin business Ecirette Wholesale and Ecirette Solutions recorded combined profits of just over €500,000 in 2023, up from €400,000 the year before, although owner Alex Pescar said the introduction of excise tax on e-liquids “is expected to negatively impact” their revenue and profits “by approximately 30% in 2025”.
As part of Budget 2025, an excise of 50c per millilitre of e-liquid will be introduced from the middle of this year.
While vape industry figures have enthusiastically championed the profitability of the business, some are now wary about tobacco companies also moving into the sector.
Mark Curran, the director and founder of Temple Bar-based Vintage Vape Rooms, said he was worried about the size of the vape market held by “Big Tobacco” companies.
“I’m concerned and have been for many years of big tobacco infiltrating the vape industry,” he said.
“They have attracted a lot of bad press and created controversial products in recent years. [It’s] definitely a concern perception wise.”
Reporter: Paul O’Donoghue • Reporter & Editor (The Journal Investigates): Maria Delaney • Editor (The Journal): Sinéad O’Carroll • Social Media: Sadbh Cox • Main Image Design: Lorcan O’Reilly
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