Legislation to ban the sale of disposable vapes blamed for an ‘epidemic’ of e-cigarette smoking needs to be fast-tracked, a heart- health charity has insisted.
Single-use vapes faced a ban in Northern Ireland and the UK on June 1, and the Irish Heart Foundation says there should be no delay in making the measure an all-island one.
Cabinet approved draft laws tabled by then Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in September to ban single-use vapes after Government research concluded they are relatively cheap and disproportionately used by younger people.
Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the national stroke and heart charity said that while Ireland led the world on the workplace smoking ban in 2004, we are lagging behind in the battle against youth vaping.
“In light of the forthcoming UK ban, Ireland needs to follow suit — and fast,” said Mark Murphy, Senior Policy Manager. “We need an all-island ban on single-use e-cigarettes, which are detrimental to young people’s health and overturning the strides Ireland has made in reducing nicotine addiction.
“However, even if we successfully introduce a ban on these vapes, we need to future-proof it to avoid loopholes which e-cigarette companies will do everything to exploit.”
Among those loopholes is a move by manufacturers to create super-sized ‘Big-Puff’ vapes offering up to 6,000 puffs compared to the regular 600.
These do not breach existing law as their tanks contain 2ml of vape liquid.
Public sentiment here also supports a crackdown — Ipsos research for the Irish Heart Foundation in 2023 showed that 64 per cent of people back the banning of disposable e-cigarettes in Ireland.
Belgium and France have taken action on disposable vapes, whilst other countries have banned child-friendly flavours and introduced plain packaging. “It makes no sense to have a two-tier island where single use vapes are banned in Northern Ireland but freely available in the Republic,” added Mr Murphy.
“Vaping can affect teenage brain development, damage blood vessels, cause high blood pressure, cause changes in heart rhythm and have serious effects on the respiratory system.
“Worst of all, research indicates that vaping is a gateway to smoking, which is still claiming 12 lives every day in Ireland, making it our biggest cause of preventable death.”
The Irish Heart Foundation is also seeking a dedicated quitline for vaping, tailored to young adults.
