Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 May 2024
256. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Health if the detailed results of the public consultation on Further Regulation of Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products, which his Department conducted from 25 November 2023 to 5 December 2024, will be published in full before proposals for new legislation on raising the legal age for smoking are brought to the Government. [22192/24]
View answerI received Cabinet approval on Tuesday 14th May to draft a Bill to raise the minimum legal age of sale of tobacco products to 21. The Regulatory Impact Analysis for this proposal incorporates the results of the question on possible changes to the current age of sale that was contained in my recent public consultation on proposed approaches to the regulation of tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products. The consultation received 15,822 responses and analysis of those responses is ongoing.
Tobacco smoking causes catastrophic health harms and continues to kill an estimated 4,500 of our population every year. It is my intention to draft and enact the measure on raising the minimum legal age of sale of tobacco products as soon as possible in order to reduce the disease, disability and death caused by this lethal addiction.
