Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to put it on the record that the 95% figure is tosh. Ms Power has said that e-cigarettes are not recommended as a cessation method except for long-term adult smokers so why do people use e-cigarettes to quit smoking? Is it because there has been a powerful marketing campaign and we have let the ball slip? I have the 95% figure in my head and I remember that she said a couple of years that research still needed to be done. What drives people to use e-cigarettes? Every second person I know seems to vape all the time. Maybe it is just my age group but a lot of people are vaping.

The Irish Heart Foundation, in its opening statement, proposed an increase in the legal age of sale of cigarettes and e-cigarettes to 21. Is that a realistic option in Ireland? What engagement has there been in terms of whether that legislation will ever happen? Do the witnesses think that they will get political support for the increase? Is the proposal aspirational and even though it is based on evidence, the reality of whether it might happen is another thing?