Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 Jun 2023

Vol. 1039 No. 6

Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2023: Second Stage

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Hildegarde Naughton)

I move:

"That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to be here on behalf of the Minister for Health to introduce the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill to this House. The primary objective of the Bill is to reduce the health harms of smoking through reducing the use of tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products, especially by young people. The Bill will achieve these objectives through the introduction of a licensing system for the retail sale of these products, restrictions on sale and advertising, and strengthening the powers of the enforcement authority, namely, the environmental health service of the HSE.

Tobacco smoking is addictive and lethal. There is scientific consensus that smoking kills one out of every two smokers. According to international analysis, smoking is the risk factor that drives the most death and disability combined in Ireland. Our own data tells us it kills more than 12 of our people every day, or 4,500 per year. In addition to the death toll, combustible tobacco products also cause a vast range of illnesses, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, aneurysms, stroke and 16 types of cancer. The World Health Organization has estimated 14% of Alzheimer's disease cases worldwide are attributable to smoking. Smoking during childhood and adolescence also causes both reduced lung function and impaired lung growth.

There remains an absence of scientific consensus on the health harms of nicotine inhaling products such as e-cigarettes. What is generally agreed is that nicotine inhaling products are not harmless, that it is likely that they are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes and that further research is needed to establish possible long-term health effects. The Health Research Board reviewed the evidence on e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products in October 2020. Its main findings were that: e-cigarettes are not harmless but may represent a reduction in harm relative to smoking; more research is needed to establish the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products; e-cigarette use is associated with an increased likelihood of smoking in adolescents; and e-cigarettes are as effective as approved nicotine replacement therapies for smoking cessation at six months. More research is needed to establish their safety and effectiveness in the longer term. Since July 2014 the World Health Organization has recommended sales of e-cigarettes to minors be prohibited as there is sufficient evidence of the potential for adolescent nicotine exposure to have long-term consequences for brain development. In addition, and as confirmed by the Health Research Board evidence, such a prohibition would prevent minors from becoming exposed to nicotine with the risk that this may act as a gateway to the use of tobacco products.

We have made good progress in reducing our smoking rates from the very high levels in the past but there is still much to do. The 2022 Healthy Ireland survey data tells us 18% of our adult population smoke, with 14% smoking daily and 4% smoking occasionally. Our latest Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey from 2018, shows 5% of children aged between ten and 17 years smoke monthly or more frequently and 11% have smoked at least once. Usage of e-cigarettes among adults was 6% in 2022, according to the Healthy Ireland survey, with 3% daily use and 3% occasional use. Among children, the 2018 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey showed 9% had used an e-cigarette within the last 30 days and 22% had tried one at some point.

This Bill will introduce further restrictions on tobacco products, such as introducing the requirement for an annual licence, banning their sale through self-service and banning their sale from temporary or pop-up shops. We are also, for the first time, introducing Irish legislation on nicotine inhaling products, such as e-cigarettes. These products are currently regulated in Ireland through the EU tobacco products directive. This Bill will introduce measures additional to those required at EU level, including an annual licensing requirement to sell these products, a ban on the sale of these products to minors, a ban on the sale of these products and tobacco products by minors, with limited exceptions, a ban on the sale of these products and tobacco products at events for children and additional restrictions on the advertising.

I will take Deputies through the Bill to outline the content of each section. The Bill is divided into five parts. Part 1 is titled "Preliminary and General" and contains sections 1 to 9, inclusive. Section 1 sets out the Short Title of the Bill and provides that the Minister for Health may provide for different lead-in times for different sections. Longer lead-in times will be provided for certain provisions to ensure businesses will be given plenty of time to prepare for compliance with the new requirements in the Bill. In particular, the new requirement to apply for and obtain an annual licence to continue to sell these products. Section 2 deals with interpretation and defines some of the terms used in the Bill. "Nicotine inhaling product" is defined here and it includes any part of the product such as a cartridge attached to the product or any substance used in the product. This comprehensive definition means a licence will be required for the sale of any element of these products. This section also provides that sale by retail includes online sales.

Section 3 ensures the Act will not apply to medical devices such as those with nicotine which may be prescribed for smokers to assist them to quit smoking. Section 4 provides that companies and corporate bodies shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at their registered office or principal place of business. Section 5 empowers the Minister for Health of the day to make regulations as provided for under the Act. Section 6 is a standard provision dealing with expenses. Section 7 is a standard provision dealing with the service of documents under the Act. Section 8 provides that where a person is sold a tobacco product or nicotine inhaling product from somewhere outside the State, but that product is despatched within the State, the sale is deemed to have taken place within the State and therefore will be subject to the provisions of the Act.

Section 9 repeals certain sections of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 and certain regulations. Sections 5A and 37 of the 2002 Act are being repealed. These sections deal with the Register of Tobacco Retailers. As the register is being replaced by the licensing system provided for in this Bill, these provisions will no longer be necessary. Section 45 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 prohibits the sale of tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age. This prohibition is being re-enacted at section 29 of this Bill. It will now sit alongside a ban on the sale of nicotine inhaling products to persons aged under 18 and will provide for updated defences for retailers. Section 9(2) revokes regulations from 2009 on the Register of Tobacco Retailers and the requirement that tobacco retailers have a sign on the counter. These regulations will need to be replaced as the Register of Tobacco Retailers will now be replaced by a licensing system. Section 9(2) also revokes the Public Health (Tobacco) (Self Service Vending Machines) Regulations 2009, which provided for the rules governing the sale of tobacco products through self-service vending machines. These regulations will no longer be required as the sale of both tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products by self-service, including through vending machines, is being prohibited in this Bill.

Part 2 of the Bill is titled "Licence for sale of tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products" and contains sections 10 to 23, inclusive. Section 10 sets out the application process for an annual licence to sell either tobacco products, nicotine inhaling products or both. Under the current registration system for tobacco retailers, a once-off registration, with a fee of €50, means a retailer can sell tobacco products from any number of premises for any length of time. Under the new system, an annual licence for each premises is required.

The fee will be determined by the Minister for Health. Section 10 also provides that a licence will not be issued for sales from a temporary or moveable premises other than a commercial passenger ship. This means that pop-up shops, for example at music festivals, will not be licensed to sell tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products.

Section 11 provides for the determination of the licence. The environmental health service of the HSE must refuse to grant a licence if the application is not made correctly, if the applicant has been convicted of two or more serious offences under tobacco control law, or if the applicant provides false or misleading information.

Section 12 provides for the issue of the licence and sets out the information that will be contained on the licence. Section 13 provides that a licence will be issued for a 12-month period. Section 14 provides for the renewal of a licence. Section 15 provides for an appeal to the District Court if an application for a licence, or for renewal of a licence, is refused. Section 16 provides that a licence holder may apply for a copy of a licence if the original has been lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed. Section 17 provides that the Minister may prescribe fees in relation to the licensing system.

Section 18 provides that a licence may be revoked if the licensee has committed two or more serious tobacco control offences, or no longer holds a valid tax clearance certificate, or provides false or misleading information. Section 19 provides that a licensee can make representations to the environmental health service in relation to the decision to revoke a licence, and section 20 provides for an appeal to the District Court against a revocation.

Section 21 sets out the duty to display a licence. Section 22 describes the register of licences to be held by the environmental health service, and section 23 sets out that a licensee must notify changes in information to the environmental health service.

Part 3 is titled Certain Offences and contains sections 24 to 31, inclusive. Section 24 makes it an offence to sell tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products without a licence. Section 25 prohibits the sale of tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products by self-service.

Section 26 provides that tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products cannot be sold by a minor. The exception is a close relative of the licensee who is over 16 years of age. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that these products are not further normalised for young retail workers and to avoid such workers coming under peer pressure to sell these products to other minors. Section 27 re-enacts the ban on the sale of tobacco products to minors and applies that to nicotine inhaling products. It shall be a defence for a retailer if the purchaser produces a form of identification such as a passport or age card.

Section 28 prohibits the sale of tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products at events aimed at children or at events where children are in the majority. Section 29 prohibits the advertising of nicotine inhaling products on school grounds or within 200 m of the perimeter of a school; on a public service vehicle such as a taxi, bus, train or tram; at a train station or bus station; or at a bus stop or tram stop. Section 30 provides that it is an offence to advertise nicotine inhaling products in a cinema except around a film that has been classified as suitable for adults. Section 31 provides that it is an offence to display a licence that has been suspended, revoked or has expired.

Part 4 is titled Enforcement and Compliance and contains sections 32 and 33. Section 32 provides a statutory backing for the environmental health service’s programme of test purchasing. This is an enforcement tool used by the environmental health service, in which persons under 18 attempt to purchase tobacco products. Section 33 provides that the environmental health service may publish a list of persons on whom a fine or other penalty has been imposed by a court under the Act.

Part 5 is titled Penalties and Proceedings and contains sections 34 to 40, inclusive. Section 34 sets out the penalties for offences under the Bill. Section 35 is a standard section providing that it is a defence for a person to show they made all reasonable efforts to comply with the requirements of the Act. Section 36 provides that officers of a company or like persons are liable for offences committed by a body corporate. Section 37 relates to the certification of evidence in the case of samples examined in a designated laboratory.

Section 38 provides for the duration of the periods for which a licence will be suspended by a court. The duration depends on the seriousness of the offence committed, whether it is a first offence and whether the offence is taken on summary prosecution or on indictment. The minimum suspension period is not less than two days and the maximum is 12 months.

Section 39 provides that summary proceedings may be brought and prosecuted by the HSE. Section 40 provides that the offences of the sale of tobacco products and the sale of nicotine inhaling products by self-service, along with the sale of both products at events for children, may be prosecuted within 12 months.

Part 6 is titled Amendment of Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 and contains sections 41 to 48, inclusive. Section 41 inserts necessary definitions into the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002. Section 42 amends section 5 of the 2002 Act to align the penalties for the sale by self-service of tobacco products with that of nicotine inhaling products. Section 43 provides for electronic service of documents. Section 44 makes a number of amendments to section 43 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002, the most important of which is to repeal the provision that allows for the sale of tobacco products through self- service vending machines.

Sections 45 and 46 amend the 2002 Act to ensure the powers, functions and appointment of authorised officers applies to this Act. This also ensures those powers apply to nicotine inhaling products as well as to tobacco products. Section 47 amends the Act of 2002 to include the offence of forgery of documents in this Act.

Section 48 adds new sections 54 to 57, inclusive, to the 2002 Act. This will provide the environmental health service with the additional enforcement tools of compliance notices, prohibition notices and fixed payment notices throughout all of tobacco control law. It also provides for the procedure to be used if material that may be subject to legal privilege is at issue in an investigation by the environmental health service.

Part 7 is titled Miscellaneous and contains sections 49 and 50. Section 49 inserts nicotine inhaling products into the Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act, alongside tobacco products, so that the Act is disapplied from them. Section 50 includes references to this Act in the tobacco products directive regulations of 2016.

I look forward to all of the Deputies' contributions on this important law, which is designed to reduce health harms from smoking and drive down the uptake of tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products, particularly by our children. I commend the Bill to the House.

Deputy David Cullinane

I am sharing time with colleagues. I welcome the legislation and the debate today. We are broadly supportive of this Bill but we will bring forward some amendments on Committee Stage which I will discuss later. The Bill is a very important and long overdue public health measure. It was needed years ago when vaping was a new technology and before it was heavily and aggressively marketed towards young people. The health committee completed pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposals in this Bill last July. The evidence we heard clearly showed that the regulation of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products needs to be modernised. Recent data indicate that in 2015, just under one in four teenagers had used a vape, and that by 2019, this had risen to nearly 40%. The numbers smoking have also increased although they are much lower than the numbers vaping. It is clear from international and anecdotal evidence that this trend has continued if not accelerated during the pandemic years. Because of weaknesses in the existing legislation, vaping has become a habit which now seems to be embedded in youth culture. That is a significant change in recent years, and the progress made in reducing smoking and nicotine addiction over the past two decades is becoming undone. In that context of rising smoking and vaping rates among teenagers and young people, the Bill is welcome despite the delays.

The fundamental purpose of the Bill is to ensure vapes or nicotine inhaling products are regulated to the same extent as cigarettes and traditional smoking methods and that the regulation of all of these products is up to the standard we need. The Bill seeks to achieve this by establishing a licensing system for the sale of tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products which would provide a framework for enforcement against breaches of the law. Part 2 provides that the HSE environmental health service would manage and monitor compliance with the licensing requirements and be responsible for enforcement.

The biggest gap in existing legislation is the fact it is not illegal to sell nicotine inhaling products to children. Part 3 provides for offences in this regard.

This is perhaps the most important part of this Bill. Several sections relate to protecting children from exposure to these products insofar as possible. Section 27 prohibits the sale of tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products to children and I support it. Section 28 prohibits the sale of such products at events aimed at children and at events at which the majority of people are children. I support that measure. Section 29 prohibits advertising these products in or at school or within 200 m of the grounds of a school and in or on public service and public transport vehicles, including trains, buses and light rail, and in or at stations and stops for such public transport vehicles. Section 39 prohibits the advertisement of nicotine inhaling products at cinemas. Taken together, these sections provide a robust set of offences which should stop the sale of these products to children and, as important, curb the effects of targeted advertisements which are designed to get children interested in and addicted to nicotine from a young age.

During our pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposals, advocate organisations such as the Irish Heart Foundation made the case that the Bill should also ban flavoured vaping products and ban or regulate the packaging of vaping products. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State or the Minister for Health at some stage in the course of the progression of this Bill could address these issues and whether they were or are being considered. In particular I would like to hear the Ministers' thoughts on the regulation of packaging and whether he or she intends to bring the regulation of packaging in line with packaging of cigarettes and other products. Will the Ministers enforce plain packaging? Are they content that the measures in this Bill are sufficient? Clarification on those issues today would be useful.

Part 4 provides for test purchasing to ascertain compliance with prohibitions on sales to children. It allows for children over the age of 15, with proper consent from their parents, to be employed as part of spot checks working with an inspector. Will the Minister of State elaborate on how this will work in practice, the level at which these children will be paid and how it will be ensured appropriate consent has been received from parents? All of these sections will require further scrutiny and we will come back on Committee Stage with amendments where we feel the Bill can and should be improved.

One simple amendment which should be standard practice is a requirement in the Bill for a review of the legislation. We have seen the usefulness of this requirement with a number of Acts. I will be moving an amendment to include an obligation to review the operation and effectiveness of the legislation after two years because, with any new licensing system, there may be challenges and we need to be sure the licensing system and the offences which prohibit the targeting of children are working as intended.

It would be especially important to review the effectiveness of the Bill in dealing with online sales. Section 8 attempts to deal with this by providing that the point of sale for the purposes of the Act shall be considered the location within the State from which the product is dispatched where the product has been sold outside of the State. I am conscious that online sales can be extremely difficult to regulate, especially where products are purchased outside of the State. However, the effectiveness of the provision seems questionable. I hope it works as intended. That is precisely why the Bill should have a mandatory review after two years. This will give time for the system to be set up and embedded and allow for a period of data collection to analyse the performance and operation of the legislation.

Lastly, much more can and must be done outside of legislation to manage these issues. Information is key and the Ministers must ensure proper information is fully available but also accessible and widely distributed. That must include the harms and risks of smoking, the relative harms and risks associated with traditional methods compared with vaping, and an honest assessment of nicotine as an addictive and potentially harmful substance. It is essential that people who decide to smoke or vape are fully equipped with accurate information. It is the Government's responsibility to tackle misinformation and misperceptions about these problems. It is important also that we are being honest about the relative risks rather than relying on blanket statements that people may trust or believe. The nuanced differences between vaping and traditional methods are important. This is especially important for people who are considering vaping to stop smoking. We should help adults to make informed choices and make sure children do not have easy and legal access to addictive substances. The Bill goes some way to achieving these goals but there is a good deal of other work to do. For all of those reasons I will be supporting the Bill.

Deputy Mark Ward

We welcome this legislation to bring the regulation of e-cigarette and vaping in line with the regulation of tobacco products and to update some elements of tobacco products regulations to ensure consistency and standards. As has been said, we will make a number of amendments. I have a couple of points and questions. I would appreciate it if the Minister could address some of these in her closing remarks. At the moment, a person need only walk outside most secondary schools to see one of these vape shops in the vicinity. These shops are not placed there by accident. For example, in Clondalkin village, one of these shops is right outside one of the schools. Will legislation stop vape shops from opening up outside schools? Is 200 m enough distance from schools to stop this practice happening? Because of the gaps in the law, it is not illegal to sell these products to children. The marketing of e-cigarettes and vapes is not regulated in the same way traditional tobacco products are. Therefore, the Bill would also ban advertising these products on public transport or near schools. That is welcome but will this Bill and this legislation stop vape shops from opening outside schools? They are going to have big advertisements outside such as "vapes sold here" or whatever it might be. Some of them are in really flashy lights. They are enticing for young people walking by. Will this legislation stop that from happening?

Advertising and marketing flavouring has been targeted towards children to encourage young people to take up vaping. I did a quick search online this morning which told me that I could buy vapes in the following flavours: strawberry ice cream, cotton candy, cherry cola, bubble gum and blue raspberry as well as many others. These flavours deliberately target children. There is no other way around this. Can the loophole in the legislation be closed to stop this deliberate practice of targeting children in order that it can be stopped?

Packaging was mentioned. The packaging is multicoloured and attractive. It looks like something a child could pick up in any pound shop as a toy. Can packaging be looked at? Can warnings be placed on packaging similar to tobacco products?

The Bill creates a new licensing and enforcement system through the environmental health service of the HSE which will ensure we can stop the sale of these products to children by using strict penalties and inspections. I have a question on that. Are there any penalties for an adult who would go into a shop to buy this to give to a child? We spoke about vape shops but these e-cigarettes and vapes can be bought in many other shops. Will the legislation extend to newsagents and other shops that are close to schools?

Another quick search online this morning brought me to an online vape retailer that boasts about same-day delivery in Dublin, seven days a week. Amazon cannot even boast of that. Will this legislation extend to online sales?

One of the gaps in the legislation about which I am extremely concerned is that it fails to regulate the nicotine content of vaping products. There are currently different ranges of nicotine content in vapes. Is there any provision in this legislation to put an upper level on nicotine content or to stop vapes being advertised, for example, as having 3 mg of nicotine content when they actually have 18 mg of nicotine content? Does it have to say? If it states 3 mg of nicotine content, is there a way of testing that to see exactly what is in it?

I worked in addiction services. I talked to the Minister about harm reduction. I genuinely believe harm reduction is the way to go in many addiction issues, but has any research been done on vapes? Many adults see vapes as a harm-reduction measure that is less harmful than smoking. Has any research been done that can back this up?

I also ask for a review of the regulations when they come in. Sinn Féin will ask for a statutory review of the legislation to be included in the Bill. We need to make sure the system is working as intended.

While legislation is important legislation, by itself it is not enough. We need to ensure proper information is fully available, especially for people who are considering vaping to stop smoking. That is why I asked about the research.

Is vaping, in fact, a harm reduction measure or are there other harms, including hidden harms, in using e-cigarettes? We should be doing everything possible to help adults make informed choices and ensure children do not have easy and legal access to addictive substances.

Deputy Chris Andrews

This Bill aims to ensure the tobacco industry is prevented from monopolising the market in tobacco and nicotine inhaling products. It will promote public health, public safety and consumer welfare. We welcome the Bill. It would have been more beneficial to have introduced it a number of years ago. However, as the saying goes, we are where we are. By introducing stricter regulations on the sale, advertising and marketing of these products, it will restrict access to hazardous substances. I recently heard a consultant say the people using vaping devices are taking part in an experiment. In effect, vapers are guinea pigs because we do not yet know the effects of vaping. That has to be a concern and should be borne in mind.

As Deputy Ward said, legislation is not enough. Public awareness and education must run in parallel in response to these issues in order that people can make an informed decision regarding their health. By educating people on the dangers of using tobacco and nicotine, they can be encouraged to make healthier decisions and receive support if they fall victim to addiction. To support a healthier lifestyle for citizens, we must acknowledge and address the underlying problems and work towards an effective strategy.

Additionally, the Bill acknowledges that new vaping devices and e-cigarettes are being introduced. These products will have to meet strict regulation requirements, including restricted-selling labelling and safety requirements. That is really important. The way the products look, including their colours, brightness and glitz, is a huge attraction to everyone, not just young people. Some vape products are marketed in ways that attract non-smokers. It may not be politically correct to say it but I have noticed that the number of young women who did not previously smoke but are now using these flavoured vape products seems to be increasing. It is hard to understand what the attraction is other than the good marketing associated with the products and the fact there is some addictive element to them. Young people especially seem to be attracted to vape devices such as those produced by Elf Bar. Many of the products are disposable, which means there are environmental consequences as well.

One factor contributing to their attractiveness is the availability of enticing but misleading flavours such as birthday cake and cotton candy. As someone with a sweet tooth, such flavours would attract me. That practice absolutely must be stopped. The products are designed to copy enjoyable flavours and thereby release endorphins and all of that. Many people feel better when they have chocolate. I certainly do. People using these vaping devices feel the same. It is satisfying and the flavour is nice. Through mechanisms such as appealing to taste, the vape companies take advantage of young people by enticing them to buy their products. With stricter marketing regulations, we can diminish the influence of the tobacco and vape industry. There have been studies discussing the gateway effect of e-cigarettes in leading users to smoking, with the use of flavoured vape products eventually leading to tobacco addiction. By banning flavoured products, we can prevent the transition to tobacco use and in that way protect public health. The ongoing availability of tobacco products to new generations will always be synonymous with further deterioration of public health. Regulation provides a viable means of ensuring the protection of our communities.

It is a long time since I was a young person. Therefore, I met with a group of young people to discuss this issue and find out what they think. They made a few points I thought were worth hearing. They pointed out that it is the responsibility of Oireachtas Members to step in and provide safeguards. It is their view that banning underage vaping promotes a healthier lifestyle and reduces the burden on the healthcare system. They pointed out the easy accessibility of vaping products and that enticing marketing leads to increased usage by teenagers. In their view, banning the sale of vaping products to people aged under 18 is essential. Under-18s, they noted, are a particularly vulnerable cohort as they fall much more easily into forming habits. They pointed out that under-18s are in a critical development period and are vulnerable to influence and addiction. Targeting prevention measures at under-18s can prevent habit formation and reduce the chance of further addiction. The young people feel this House has a responsibility to acknowledge the vulnerability of youth. Research they undertook showed the likelihood of developing a long-term addiction increases when individuals use tobacco during their adolescence.

This Bill is welcome and essential. We can no longer allow vapers, including young people, to be guinea pigs for the large vaping and tobacco industry.

Deputy Duncan Smith

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill, which the Labour Party will support. It is a relatively straightforward and common-sense Bill to which I do not think there will be any opposition. It inserts itself into the overall policy framework, designed in 2013, that seeks to make Ireland tobacco-free by 2025. Currently, Ireland has a smoking rate of 18%. While we as a nation consider ourselves to have been a leader in tackling smoking and smoking addiction by bringing in the smoking ban nearly 20 years ago, there is an argument that we have become quite complacent in this area. Given the current smoking rate of 18%, it could take until the late 2040s to reach our stated target of being tobacco free, which equates to a tobacco smoking prevalence rate of under 5%. Our progress in this area has slowed. In the intervening time since the target was set, we have had the phenomenon of vaping come into our lives. Its prevalence has increased. While the Bill aims to tackle vaping among young people through licensing and prohibitions, we will have to do a lot more work in the health space when it comes to understanding, legislating for and regulating, insofar as we see fit, the whole area of vaping and nicotine inhaling products. There is a lot of contested literature and a large number of contested studies. What is not contested is what we are discussing today and what is proposed in this legislation, that is, the need to stop young people from vaping and then going on to smoke.

Tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of preventable deaths in Ireland, with anywhere between 4,600 and 5,200 people passing away each year and 55,000 hospitalisations annually due to the impacts of smoking. A conservative estimate is that its cost to the health system is €1.6 billion every year. Vaping has assisted many smokers to move away from smoking. I have adult family members who transitioned to being non-smokers through vaping. However, as well as people transitioning in that direction, there are others, many of them young people, going in the opposite direction. Their journey towards smoking begins with vaping at a very young age. That is not to say all young people who vape will go on to smoke. However, as a Legislature, we must recognise we live in a world in which some young people will always challenge what they are told they should be doing by smoking, drinking or doing other things. We must acknowledge that.

Until this legislation goes through, we are living with an environment in which it is not illegal to sell vaping devices to children. In reality, to the credit of most store owners and retailers, e-cigarettes are usually sold in the same manner as traditional cigarettes, with identification required. However, there are many cases in which that is not done. The problem is not just with online retailers.

We see them being sold in petrol stations and in many shops. Would you believe that disposable vapes are even being sold in butchers' shops in my constituency? The evidence is everywhere, and it is stark. From speaking to teachers and parents, we know that primary school children are now vaping, teenagers are vaping, and young people who have never smoked are now vaping.

I attended one of Bruce Springsteen's recent concerts. If one goes to any of the summer concerts in our public parks or stadiums, one sees used disposable vapes all over the ground when walking out at the end of the evening. One of the biggest music festivals in north-western Europe, Glastonbury, has now added disposable vapes to the list of items that people should not bring to the festival on environmental grounds. They become littered all over the ground and there are massive issues in disposing of them in an environmentally friendly manner. This is an epidemic of health and environmental concern, which is another reason this legislation is long overdue.

Ireland has a duty of care to implement, as a matter of urgency, this legislation to outlaw the sale of these e-cigarettes to minors and to tackle this growing problem in the same way that we tackled traditional cigarettes in the past. We must be brave and be bold to ensure we have strong legislation that is backed up by strong public health policy, which I believe we do in this regard.

In the past two weeks, the Irish Cancer Society gave Members a pre-budget briefing on the impact of cancer on the health system and society, and on the role that tobacco addiction plays in that. When we progress the debate beyond this legislation, as I said at the outset, we need to be conscious of the complex public framework within which vaping and e-cigarettes currently exist. We are going to have to have those conversations also with regard to adults who are vaping. We must look at the regulation of the product itself: will we look at the Australian model of banning it outright or will we go for something that is bespoke to Ireland? These are the difficult debates - far more difficult than this - that lie ahead.

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, for bringing this Bill forward. The Labour Party will be supporting it. We hope it has a speedy passage through the House and that it will become law as soon as possible.

An Ceann Comhairle

I call on Deputy Róisín Shortall.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I believe I am next.

An Ceann Comhairle

I apologise. Deputy Murnane O'Connor is not on my list but she is the next speaker.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I also thank the Minister of State. This legislation is so important. I was in a shopping centre recently and I was struck by the queue outside a vape station. It was mostly young people. I was shocked because when vapes were first introduced they were to assist those wishing to quit cigarette smoking. Now, however, we are hearing from doctors about the harm vaping is causing to young people's health and to the environment. Sweet-flavoured, disposable vapes are getting children hooked on nicotine. Our streets are littered with these disposable vapes. While there may have been benefits previously for those seeking to kick a nicotine habit, we must get serious about informing our young people of the harm of vapes. We hear of children being hospitalised with breathing issues, some of which is caused by vaping. We must remember that it is addictive. Tackling the packaging is one great way to combat increased use.

The Bill seeks to introduce a licensing system for retail sales of tobacco and e-cigarettes and to bring in a range of restrictions on sales of those products. This includes banning sales from mobile phone premises and vending machines. The Bill also proposes banning the sale of e-cigarettes to those under the age of 18 and the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes by those under 18, except those 16 and 17-year-olds who are related to the licensee. The Bill further proposes restrictions on advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes. I support each of these aims and call on everyone to get behind this Bill to protect our children.

Having looked through the different sections of the Bill, I welcome the provision in section 29 to prohibit the advertising of nicotine inhaling products: on school grounds or within 200 m of the perimeter of the school; on public service vehicles such as a taxi, a bus, a train or a tram; at a train station, a bus station; or at a bus stop or a tram stop. Section 31 also seeks to provide that it would be an offence to display a licence that had been suspended, revoked or had expired. Will the Minister of State clarify what sort of information campaign is the Government looking at in this regard? I am a firm believer that communication and information are crucial.

I also wish to ask the Minister of State about enforcement. What sort of enforcement plan is being put in place for this? This is a really good Bill and I believe that all Members of the House will support it. Again, we must have proper information and a proper campaign plan, along with education and, of course, enforcement. This is absolutely crucial.

Those who see what harm can be done by these vapes will be deterred from using them, and eventually we will see those using vapes using them to quit cigarettes instead of beginning another lifetime of addiction. This is what it can be. We have a duty of care, which we are doing here, to educate and inform people, and especially our young people. As a spokesperson for children, I am very mindful of this and of the harm it can do.

I welcome the Bill. I know that all of us working together will absolutely sort out the issues here.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor and I apologise for the confusion with my speakers' list.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I thank the Ceann Comhairle.

An Ceann Comhairle

We will now go to Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú and then to Deputy Róisín Shortall

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

We support the Bill, as do a lot of other people, on the basis that it is dealing with an anomaly that has existed whereby it has not been illegal to sell vapes to children. We are aware that a huge number of vendors have been very careful in how they operate and all the rest of it.

We have probably all looked at vaping through a particular prism. We have all seen where it has been helpful to people as a harm reduction tool in facilitating them to move away from incredibly harmful smoking. We must differentiate in that regard. We must also consider that there are particular flavours and vaping products that are definitely targeted at young people and children. This is something we must look at in the round. We are talking here about a new licensing system. None of us can put an absolutely perfect system in place straightaway. The biggest term we need to get used to is the idea of a review and feedback. Some of the amendments we are looking at would be from the point of view of a three-year period, for example, in looking at what the impact of the legislation would be. Has it reduced the number of people who are vaping or what other impacts are there? We never know what the unintended consequences will be. We must also consider whether anybody has found workarounds that we would not like to see.

We all know how addictive nicotine is. On some level, we probably saw vaping as something a lot safer in that the delivery mechanism was not tobacco with all of the absolutely harmful fumes and chemicals that go with it, such as carbon monoxide and other terrible chemicals. The fact is that we do not know the full impact vaping has.

While there have been recent studies, I do not believe there has been sufficient research. There will have to be a big body of work to educate young people in particular. It was said that people are taking in food additives, but they are taking these in through the breathing apparatus rather than ingesting them through the digestive system which is well able to do with those sorts of things and we need to know about the dangers.

I also accept we are talking about kids vaping at a time when, unfortunately, there is a huge amount of illegal narcotics out there which people are availing of. We need the regulation and to ensure that we have a review mechanism and that this legislation and anything else we look at has the intended impact. This is also about ensuring that we have a reasonable licensing system, something that is safe for people and, in particular, that we protect children and do not create new addicts.

Deputy Róisín Shortall

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation which the Social Democrats will be supporting.

A ban on the sale of vapes to under 18s is very much long overdue along with curbs on advertising. However, given the surge in youth vaping, the provisions of this Bill do not go far enough to tackle what is a rapidly growing problem.

During pre-legislative scrutiny, the scale of vaping amongst minors was laid bare and that is why the Committee on Health recommended greater intervention than the Minister of State is proposing. Unfortunately, most of those recommendations have been ignored by the Government. Of the 15 well thought-out recommendations, more than half have not been acted upon. What is the purpose of pre-legislative scrutiny if the Government does not take on board the recommendations from the relevant committee, having considered the matter in detail? Given this country’s track record in the regulation of tobacco and cigarettes, I find it difficult to understand the lack of ambition shown in this Bill.

Ireland used to be a leader in this area, having been the first country to ban workplace smoking in 2004. However, it now appears that that leadership is sorely lacking.

The most alarming aspect of this Government’s response to the growing use of nicotine is that it is sleepwalking into a teenage vaping crisis. According to the Irish Heart Foundation, 39% of 15- to 16-year-olds have used vapes, with 15.5% of them regular users, while the Irish Cancer Society told the Committee on Health that vaping rates in the 12- to 17-years category has risen from one in ten, to one in five. That is a doubling of the rates.

It should be noted that most of this data is between two and three years old but given the increasingly widespread use of vapes, one could only assume that these numbers have increased substantially. This dramatic surge in teenage vaping can also be seen in other jurisdictions.

In the UK, where a ban on the sale of vapes to under-18s has been in place since 2015, 9% of 11- to 15-year-olds used vapes in 2021, up from 6% in 2018. The ban, therefore, did not do a whole lot. For 15-year-olds, the figure rose to 18%.

The experience of our closest neighbour should act as a cautionary tale. Clearly banning the sale of vapes to under-18s is not enough to contain the soaring popularity of vaping amongst teenagers. That is why, in my view, a much stronger response is required to address this public health issue. We are one of the last EU countries to ban vape sales to children. Why is that? It is because successive governments have dragged their heels on this issue. The State has allowed a highly addictive substance to be sold to children and teens for several years now, and the legacy of this failing is as yet unknown.

Most vapes contain nicotine, a proven drug compound, along with a cocktail of other chemicals heated to high temperatures. Yet they are widely available because of the absence of a robust regulatory environment. No other drug would be allowed onto the market without vigorous testing, safety checks and regulation, except this one. Why is that the case? Is it because of lobbying or is it because this Government simply does not understand the scale of the problem? In my view, it appears to be an element of both.

It should come as no surprise that vaping companies and their lobbyists are in favour of the under-18s ban. They have already got a generation of young people hooked and they know that a ban on the sale of vapes to under 18s will be ineffective because it is coming in, essentially, on its own. That’s why these companies champion this one form of regulation. If this Government is serious about tackling teen vaping, it needs to implement the Health committee’s recommendations to regulate flavours and packaging.

While vapes may help some smokers quit cigarettes, they are not risk free and more research is needed to assess their effectiveness and long-term health implications. However, one thing is for sure, there can be no justification for their availability in flavours which are specifically designed to attract children.

According to the WHO, there are around 16,000 different vape flavours, including watermelon, pink lemonade and cotton candy. Who are those intended for? That is why the Committee on Health recommended that only tobacco flavour should be available for purchase, so as not to entice minors.

In the US, research carried out by the National Library of Medicine found that almost 80% of youth users said the availability of flavours was the reason they vaped. Back home, a 2020 study of adolescents conducted for the HSE also pointed to the appeal of flavours to a youth audience. Participants said that the flavours were an attraction, with some calling vapes “trendier” due to the choice of flavours and colours.

During pre-legislative scrutiny, the Irish Cancer Society called for regulation of flavours based on the knowledge and evidence that vapes can act as a gateway to smoking for adolescents and the view that flavours such as bubble gum and cola were clearly targeted at younger children. However, according to the Department of Health, a balance must be struck regarding the needs of adult smokers and the protection of children. In my view, this is a weak argument against regulating flavours. Restricting vapes to one flavour, or, perhaps, a very small number, would not hinder adults from using them to quit smoking but it would lessen the appeal of vaping to children and teens. I have already listed a number of flavours, which include bubblegum, strawberry and those flavours which are used in sweets and in ice creams. These are specifically targeted at children and there is no denying that.

Another way of limiting their appeal to minors would be to implement plain packaging on all vapes. This is another recommendation which the Minister of State has ignored, despite the obvious rationale for such a measure.

In 2017, the last Government standardised packaging of cigarettes and tobacco and we should treat vapes in the same way. At the moment, the array of vapes behind the counter of every corner shop resembles a pick-and-mix rather than a display of highly addictive products. These products should be in plain packaging and out of sight, like cigarettes and tobacco. We know for a fact that many of the vaping companies are actually owned now by big tobacco. There is a reason why they are involved. I ask the Minister of State to think on that. Why is big tobacco involved in vaping? The reason is that vaping recruits future smokers.

While I welcome the restrictions at events aimed at children, near schools, on public transport and in cinemas - which are the minimum I expect - an outright advertising ban is needed. The advertising provisions of this Bill amount to little more than tinkering around the edges. The real battleground is online. In January, the Health Research Board highlighted a study conducted by Leah Nolan, a transition year student at Loreto Secondary School in County Cork. Her winning entry to the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2023 investigated the impact of social media on adolescents' attitudes to vaping. After designing and piloting a detailed survey, Leah sent it to all 728 secondary schools in Ireland and received more than 2,000 responses. According to her survey, 36% of all respondents were tempted by or curious about trying vapes after hearing a content creator or influencer talk about them. That is a striking figure, but it will come as no surprise to teenagers and their parents. Despite assurances that vaping advertising is heavily restricted online, the hashtag "#vape" has more than 10 billion views on TikTok. This highly effective use of hashtags has been described as stealth marketing by advocates of tighter regulation. In a submission to the Joint Committee on Health, one 17-year-old called for an outright ban on all vaping advertisements. She said they were misleading as they present only positive images of vaping as cool and fashionable and omit the negative health impacts. That is from a 17-year-old. I would have expected Ministers and the Department of Health to be aware of that. Clearly these teenagers are ahead of the Government when it comes to the impact of vaping advertising.

Another quite disappointing omission from this Bill is a much-needed review mechanism. The Joint Committee on Health recommended a review of the legislation one year after its enactment, given the speed of change, development and emergence of scientific evidence. With the review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, we are seeing first-hand just how worthwhile an exercise it can be to have a review of the operation of legislation.

Another major concern that is not addressed in this Bill is the environmental impact of disposable vapes. I appreciate that this may not be the Department of Health’s first concern. If we are serious about climate action, however, all Departments should be involved. We need an all-of-government approach to it. Will the Minister of State consider bringing an amendment to this effect? Climate change should inform public health policy because it affects the social and environmental determinants of health. The two issues are closely linked and must not be siloed. I accept that the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is currently holding a public consultation on disposable vapes and that is most welcome, but this issue also requires the Department of Health’s attention. These devices, which are usually the most brightly coloured and flavoured, are relatively cheap and much easier to conceal than most reusable vapes. This undoubtedly adds to their appeal to minors.

Separately, I welcome the new licensing provisions and the ban on the sale of tobacco and vapes from vending machines and other mobile or temporary premises. This is an entirely proportional response. However, I ask the Minister of State to consider giving the Revenue Commissioners responsibility for managing and collecting licence fees. There is a case to be made for Revenue doing so, as it may be better placed than the HSE to manage and enforce this new licensing system.

Before I conclude, I reiterate my support for the Bill. I view the provisions of this Bill positively, but the Minister of State has missed an opportunity to do something more meaningful, especially about the alarming rise in vaping among teens. I heard her in the media recently talking about the need for a ban on the various child-attracting flavours and packaging. She stated that the EU needs to ban them and that if it does not act, she will. The Minister of State has an opportunity to act now. Why is she not doing this thoroughly? There is no point in taking action like this if she is only doing so by half. She needs to do it properly and to do the full job while the draft legislation is before us. This is the time to do it. It should not be delayed to some vague point in the future. The WHO has described vapes as a gateway to tobacco consumption. We are in danger of renormalising smoking due to the availability and appeal of vapes to young people in particular. We cannot allow progress towards a tobacco-free society to stall at this point. The current smoking rate of 18% is far above the target set in the Tobacco Free Ireland report of less than 5% by 2025. I appreciate that this is an ambitious target, but we should be making greater strides towards achieving it, not only by increasing regulation of vaping but by providing ancillary supports.

During pre-legislative scrutiny, the Irish Heart Foundation provided evidence that the State spends between €11 million and €12 million a year on helping smokers to quit, while collecting approximately €1 billion a year from smokers. Surely we can afford to spend a bigger proportion of that €1 billion than €11 million or €12 million on assistance for people to quit. That is a massive gap. That is why I am calling on the Minister of State to ring-fence more funding for the HSE quit team and to address the cost barriers to quitting. For example, for people who do not have a medical card, the cost of nicotine replacement patches is about €36 per week and it is around €26 per week for gum. Given the destructive and deadly health effects of smoking on people’s health and the long-term impact of tobacco-related diseases on the wider health system, it makes absolute sense to eliminate quitting cost barriers and invest in supports such as nicotine replacement therapy. Otherwise, too many people will continue to struggle with quitting or will turn to vapes as an alternative in view of the fact that they are accessible, come at a relatively low price and are the subject of heavy marketing.

On Committee Stage, I will be putting forward amendments which seek to implement the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Health. I ask the Minister of State to give these amendments serious consideration in order that this legislation can have a much greater public health impact and make Ireland a leader in this area again.

Deputy Emer Higgins

I welcome the provisions of this Bill. Ireland has proven itself to be a leader in this space. In 2004, we became the first country in the world to ban smoking in workplaces, including bars, restaurants and enclosed public spaces. If we think back to that time, Irish pubs were probably the last place in the world anyone expected to become smoke-free. Many people thought the ambition of the State, and in particular of the then Minister for Health, Deputy Micheál Martin, and senior civil servants in the Department of Health, would fail, but it did not. Almost 20 years later, public health in Ireland has reaped the benefits of this decision. We have seen many of our European and international neighbours follow our lead. We were leaders before and this is our opportunity to be leaders again. We can be leaders in public health when it comes to e-cigarettes and vapes.

I welcome the plans in this Bill to introduce a licensing system for the sale of these products, which are currently widely available. The legislation will allow us to ban the sale of vapes by and to under-18s and to restrict advertising for and promotion of them among other measures. The debate is ongoing about the value of e-cigarettes and vapes in certain contexts such as, for example, a nicotine replacement for those who are trying to quit smoking.

Many people will say that vaping helped them quit smoking, but we just do not know yet what the long-term health implications are.

We know that teenagers are taking up vaping as an activity in its own right, rather than to stop smoking. It is right that we protect our young people from the potential risks, particularly when we see a rise in the number of teenagers, and even children, who are regularly vaping. Some 9% of 12 to 17-year-olds and more than 15% of 15 and 16-year-olds are vaping. We know about the impact of nicotine when it comes to developing brains and we know about the impact it has on the respiratory systems of young people. We also now know that children who vape are five times more likely to start smoking. This statistic is quite staggering because clearly, as the WHO has stated, vaping is becoming a gateway to cigarettes for young people. It is a loophole for under-18s that needs to be closed.

The fact that young people have had such easy access to this product that is making them five times more likely to become smokers for this long is a bit frightening. It threatens the good and progressive work that has been done to address smoking levels in Ireland. The irony is that we have people in their 20s and 30s who benefited from the negative attitude to smoking brought about by the introduction of the smoking ban. It is today's teenagers who are being sucked back in. Experimenting and being a bit rebellious is a natural part of adolescence but it seems like vapes and e-cigarettes are being specifically marketed towards our young people. There are different colours and flavours and it is almost like these items are being marketed as products for children, like a chocolate bar, a soft drink or an accessory. That is why I welcome the crackdown on advertising that is included in this Bill. To ban the advertising of vaping products around schools, on public transport and in cinemas is progressive. There are also greater enforcement powers for the environmental health service.

However, it is not the ads in the cinemas that are the problem and that is not where young people are spending all of their time. If we are honest, they are spending their time on social media. That is why I feel passionately that these advertising limitations need to be extended into the online space. It is not good enough anymore to say that social media is too big an area to regulate. That is a dangerous view because we know that we cannot leave it to the social media companies to regulate themselves; we have seen that in operation. That has been our downfall in so many areas. I hope that the targeting of under-18s with these products on social media can be looked at in the wider scope of the Bill at some point. I commend this Bill and congratulate the Minister of State and her team on all their work on this.

Deputy Paul Donnelly

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue, which is one I have become increasingly concerned about. The Bill seeks to introduce a licensing system for retail sales of tobacco and e-cigarettes. It also seeks to introduce a range of restrictions on the sale of the products, including their sale from mobile premises and vending machines.

I strongly welcome that the Bill proposes banning the sale of e-cigarettes to under 18-year-olds and the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes by those under 18. It further proposes restrictions on the advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes. However, I have a couple of issues with the Bill and I do not understand why it would provide for an exemption for sales by 16 and 17-year-olds who are related to the licensee. We do not provide exemptions for alcohol or gambling and people who work in those premises. It was also pointed out that there is nothing in the Bill on the sale of flavoured vapes, which are clearly directed towards children, nor on their nicotine content.

The use of vapes has exploded in recent years. It was a product which many people thought would impact positively and help people to stop smoking but unfortunately it has become a product of choice for children and young people. I have spoken to primary school teachers who say they know children as young as nine or ten using vapes, which is appalling. They are sold with flavours such as: menthol; mint; dessert creams; fruit; citrus; sweets; candies; nuts; and spices. It is clear they are directed at children and young people because they are also sold in brightly coloured packaging that would appeal to young people.

The HSE has reported that one in five young people say they have used vapes, which is a frightening figure. I know of some adults in their 20s and 30s who never smoked and who are regular users of vapes. Many pubs and restaurants are thankfully clamping down on the use of vapes on their premises and I would like to see it implemented and policed in the same way as cigarettes. Nicotine, no matter what way it is delivered, is highly addictive. Recent studies have shown that the side effects of vapes are becoming more widely known. These include: asthma; lung scarring; organ damage; and most worryingly, some have cancer-causing chemicals in them, which are particularly harmful when those chemicals are burned within the vapes.

A recent study reported by the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine found that about 18% of people who switched to vaping have been able to quit smoking. That is about twice as many as the number who have quit using other methods. However, 80% of those among that 18% of people who quit smoking are still vaping. Of those who used other methods, 91% kicked nicotine products altogether. Therefore, it is not really doing what it says on the tin or what we thought it would do. This is not an approved way of getting off cigarettes and it is not safe. It is highly addictive and causes serious health issues. That is with the regulated vapes but we know there are many being sold that have virtually no safety standards applied. My final message to young people and adults is not to start and if they have started, please stop now.

Deputy Gino Kenny

People Before Profit welcomes the principle of this Bill but many will ask why it took so long to ban the sale of these products to under-18s. It is hard to believe that we are only introducing legislation now because vape products have been around for more than a decade. Questions have to be asked about that. There is no doubt that tobacco companies are luring young people in particular with very seductive packaging. There are thousands of flavours and you even see young people who are definitely under 18 using these products, including disposable products. It is not a good sign when young people are engaged in this kind of behaviour.

I am not against vaping as such. It has a place when it comes to those who have come from smoking 20, 30 or 40 cigarettes per day to vaping. The genie is out of the bottle and you cannot ban vaping; that will be impossible. We should not go down the route that Australia has gone down as that will just drive it underground. There needs to be a better regulatory system because at the moment it is like the Wild West with flavours and who sells these products. The proliferation of vaping products has gone well beyond its remit and anybody can sell these products. Some of the people selling them are completely unscrupulous and they will sell them to anybody, so there needs to be a crackdown in the regulatory system and packaging. It would be very difficult to ban flavours and just have one nicotine flavour. There should be a small and limited number of flavours but if we just have one flavour, then that will not really work.

We are all in agreement that we need to do something better because we do not want young people who never smoked taking up a bad habit. In the last 15 to 20 years there has been a huge reduction in the number of people smoking and that is a good thing. Can we have a tobacco-free world? That is impossible but we can do things better and more safely for people who choose to vape and they can vape in a safer manner. We do not need to ban products and we do not want to go down that route. If we go down the route of banning vaping completely, we will be coming back here in five years with a worse situation than we have; I guarantee that. Australia has made a huge mistake in banning vaping completely. Hopefully with this legislation and other legislation, particularly around packaging, we will have a better system than we have now.

Deputy Alan Farrell

I appreciate the opportunity to make a contribution to this debate. Having tabled a Bill in this vein in 2019, specifically for the purpose of banning the sale of vape-related products to children, I am pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, has been able to progress this matter. I am also pleased the Government has taken the necessary steps in the banning of disposable vaping products.

Others have noted data collected in the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. Its report was published in 2019. Almost 2,000 aged 15 and 16 years completed its survey. It reported that 39% had used e-cigarettes and 16% reported having used one in the last 30 days. Vaping has become much more widespread in recent years and we must be cognisant that these figures may have risen since that report in 2019. We also know the use of vaping products among adolescents increases the likelihood of someone taking up smoking in later life which directly goes against the efforts of successive governments to drive down smoking rates in Ireland which result in 4,500 deaths in the State every year. It is precisely for that reason that I introduced a Private Members' Bill, the Public Health (Electronic Cigarettes and Herbal Cigarettes) Bill 2019, which sought to prohibit the sale of vaping products and other inhalation products to those aged below 18 years. I believed then, as I do now, that there is a range of further measures which we should consider the context of vaping products in Ireland. That includes limiting the range of vaping flavours readily available on the market. That has been covered by others but I would make the point, which I will return to, flavours are not the problem; advertising is the problem.

Other jurisdictions, perhaps most notably Australia, have introduced comprehensive legislation with regard to the regulation of flavoured vapes and packaging. A strict legislative approach with regard to vaping is needed and is justified by the data as well as government policies pursued over the years.

I welcome that this Bill will prohibit the sale of vaping and tobacco products at events where children and young people are the key target demographic. This is similar to the "no-fry zones" concept that was introduced some years ago. The Bill also includes a ban on self-service vending machines that provide vaping products and, importantly, it also provides for a more robust licensing system for retail sale of tobacco products and nicotine-inhaling products. These are important measures that will fulfil commitments made within the programme for Government and, as a result, in a healthier society particularly for younger people. We should also remain cognisant that globally long-term data on the effects of vaping on the human body remain unclear. It is relatively new products and there simply has not been enough time to study the long-term implications of vaping. This is something the HSE and other relevant agencies should monitor in coming years - study today so that we can learn tomorrow - in order to best inform the work of the Government, the Department and this House. In line with the European directives and regulation we have a minimum-quality standard with regard to vaping products but as we have more data and research in the coming years, regulation should be strengthened and re-evaluated if necessary as we have more information. I look at the UK where a national health body is recommending vaping products. This is something I believe is questionable, which I said at the time.

I want to recognise the wider context of the Bill and the debate in this area. Disposable vapes have an enormous impact on the environment not just through single-use plastic but also their use of lithium batteries and the litter created by these products around our communities. I invite Members to carefully have a look at the school yard and-or the bushes around schools where they will see them everywhere.

I want to touch on the question of banning advertisements. I have made this point in the past. I am very aware of the requirement for a wait period due to the competition directive when we are looking at advertising bans but if we can do this for tobacco products, then we should be doing it for vaping products too. In her opening remarks, the Minister of State noted that the various sections of the Bill are to be scheduled and I welcome that. It gives us an opportunity to copy and paste the plain packaging and advertisement ban for tobacco products into this Bill through the relevant research and implement it at an appropriate time following the wait period. It is appropriate for us to consider an amendment to that approach for the point-of-sale and general advertising ban-related products. Others have talked about the online sphere but one does not see cigarettes being advertised online. There is no hashtag for cigarettes online that I am aware of, so maybe it is as simple as that.

I return to my point that flavours are not the problem; advertising is. If we are talking about people selling a product in a shop near schools that is yellow or has bright colours, smells nice and all the rest of it, then advertising is the problem. We have recognised this for decades and yet when it comes to vaping, it seems to be something new that we are not quite ready to grasp.

Look at who owns the vaping companies. Why was the litigation, both globally and in Ireland, dropped by the tobacco companies? It is because they bought the vaping companies because they recognised that there was an avenue. We know this because of documents that were released because of litigation in the United states some 15 or 20 years ago relating to information and marketing strategies employed by those companies 50 years ago. The stuff there would make anyone’s eyes water. This is publicly available information which shows that the cigarette companies changed their strategies so they could attract young people to take up smoking and the vaping companies are doing exactly the same thing today. It is not rocket science. I implore the Minister of State to please take this suggestion on board. Those companies were not trying to stop their bottom lines; they were hooking the next generation to their product. They cannot advertise; the packaging is generic in many countries, including our own; you cannot smoke in pubs in many places; and in some places in the United States and other countries, you cannot smoke in the street. This is their avenue. Many countries in the western world have put a chink in the armour.

I do not wish to seem negative. I wholly welcome the provisions of the Bill, but we have an opportunity and I see no reason we should not proceed with banning outright advertisements for vaping products and even moving towards plain packaging thereafter.

Debate adjourned.