The sale of vaping products to people under the age of 18 will be banned by this summer under plans due to be approved by Cabinet this week.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will bring a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday in which he will outline the full legislation, which will be prioritised by Government.
The new law will ban the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18 and is expected to be enacted before the Dáil’s summer recess in mid-July.
Measures in the Bill include a restriction on the types of retailers that can sell vapes or nicotine-inhaling products. There will also be measures to curb the advertising of nicotine-inhaling products near schools and a number of other settings frequented by children and young adults.
The Government is hoping that a ban on advertisements for nicotine-inhaling products near schools and on public transport will limit children’s exposure to messages that normalise or glamorise vaping.
Mr Donnelly will tell Cabinet that there is “clear evidence” that adolescent nicotine exposure can have long-term consequences for brain development.
He is expected to point towards recently published surveys of Irish school-aged children, including the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey conducted in 2018 and the European Schools Project on Alcohol and other Drugs study conducted in 2019. Mr Donnelly will say that these surveys showed that 9 per cent of 12- to 17-year-olds and 15.5 per cent of 15 and 16-year-olds used electronic cigarettes in the preceding 30 days.
The World Health Organisation says there are 16,000 different flavours of vapes.
The Government is concerned that vaping is a “gateway to smoking”.
Mr Donnelly will also point towards a review by the Health Research Board which found that children who vaped were five times more likely to go on to start smoking.
[ ‘Everybody is vaping because everybody else is vaping’Opens in new window ]
Mr Donnelly will receive Cabinet approval to proceed with the progression of the full Bill giving effect to the new measures. It is understood that Government intends to prioritise its passage through the Oireachtas to allow for a full debate and discussion, after which it will be sent to President Michael D Higgins, who will sign it into law.
The Oireachtas Committee on Health was previously told that e-cigarettes are increasingly being marketed towards teenagers, and their colourful packaging and fruity flavours are contributing to the rise in young people vaping.
Earlier this month Australia banned recreational vaping and tightened other aspects of e-cigarette laws.
The there is aiming to ban all disposable vapes, ban the import of non-prescription vapes and limit nicotine levels, aiming for the sale of vapes to be confined to helping smokers quit.
The sale of e-cigarettes to adolescents is also banned in a number of European countries including Belgium, France and Germany.
Earlier this year the European Commission proposed a ban on the sale of flavoured heated tobacco products, including some vaping items, as part of its plan to fight cancer.
The European Commission previously said it wanted to ensure that less than 5% of the population used tobacco by 2040.
