Dr. Helen McAvoy:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to present our views today. The Institute of Public Health, IPH, and the RCPI tobacco policy group submitted joint written positions on this proposed legislation in January 2020 and in June 2021. Our statement today incorporates content from those and some updates. Like the RCPI, as a signatory to the framework convention on tobacco control we declare no conflict of interest personally, or on behalf of IPH, in terms of involvement with the tobacco industry.

The measures outlined in the general scheme make both tobacco and e-cigarettes less accessible to children and enhance Government oversight of the supply of these addictive products. The proposed Bill aligns with the Tobacco Free Ireland policy which seeks to denormalise tobacco use, protect children and work towards a tobacco endgame. It is proportionate and based on sound principles and evidence. Tobacco causes enormous harm to both children and adults; it harms them physically, psychologically and financially. Tobacco also causes significant harm to the environment and to the Exchequer. The costs of loss of productivity and premature death due to tobacco in Ireland were estimated at €711 million in 2016.

With regard to Part 2 of the general scheme, which allows for the development of a licence system for the retail sale of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products, these align with what the framework convention on tobacco control tells us to do, which is to act on supply side reduction provisions for sales to and by minors. More than 60% of 15- to 16-year-olds in Ireland reported that they think it would be either fairly easy or very easy to obtain cigarettes. Clearly, better systems are needed to address the supply channels for children and young people, and a simple register of retailers, which was set up in legislation in 2009, is no longer sufficient to support the approaches that are needed. Under a new licensing system, compliance and enforcement efforts will be better supported. We will better understand the retail environments for tobacco and e-cigarettes and that will make for better policy and practice in the longer term. The proposed annual licence fee will benefit the Exchequer and provide a revenue stream to support the crucial work of the environmental health service in supporting compliance. We know from test purchasing conducted by the HSE that approximately one in ten sales are non-compliant in terms of verification of age, so there is still a lot to do in terms of the supply side to minors.

Parts 3, 4 and 5 of the proposed Bill relate to restrictions on the sale of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products, including compliance, penalties and proceedings. The measures build on existing legislation that has prohibited tobacco marketing, got rid of point-of-sale advertising of tobacco products and mandated health warnings and standardised packaging. Tobacco is not an ordinary product – it is very addictive and toxic. It should not be sold from vending machines or mobile containers or at events or places intended for children. We strongly support the prohibition of sales of e-cigarettes to under 18-year-olds. All reasonable measures must be applied to ensure children are not exposed to nicotine, which is highly addictive and predisposes them to become either regular vapers, smokers or dual users. Given the conclusions of the evidence reviews published by the Health Research Board, we recommend extending heads 16, 17 and 21 to include nicotine inhaling products. These are the heads relating to the sale of products from temporary or moveable premises, ensuring sales happen at a counter or point of sale only, and prohibition of sales at places or events primarily intended for children. We believe these will provide additional safeguards to minors, alongside the establishment of a minimum legal age of sale for e-cigarettes.

In our written submission, we raised the possibility of raising the minimum legal age of sale of tobacco products to 21 years. There is convincing evidence that this would reduce the numbers of children and young people trying tobacco and subsequently becoming regular smokers.

We urge members consider options to progress this, if not within this Bill, then through other legislative instruments such as a separate amendment to the Public Health (Tobacco) Act of 2002.

With regard to Part 6 of the current Bill, we endorse the complete prohibition of self-service vending machines for tobacco and nicotine-inhaling products. We encourage members to follow the lead of many other European countries that have already banned those machines. Northern Ireland banned this practice a decade ago with no difficulty. An evaluation was published on it which noted that prior to the introduction of their ban, 14% of 11- to 16-year-old children in Northern Ireland who obtained cigarettes reported getting them from vending machines.

Irish legislation introduced in 2009 prohibited self-service vending machines except in licensed premises and registered clubs. It is regrettable that the exception made for licensed premises is still in place over a decade later. It is perhaps a cautionary tale on including exceptions within legislation, as they tend to hang around much longer than we think. Locating self-service vending machines for tobacco is a business model that is way past its time and a black spot on our good track record for tobacco control. The machine itself is a de facto form of advertising and promotion of tobacco products. Positioning them in places where alcohol is consumed facilitates ease of access to tobacco, including for smokers who are trying to quit. We strongly caution against accepting any alternatives to a complete ban on the machines that may be presented to members.

In conclusion and for final observations, we welcome the Bill and recognise its contribution to the existing set of tobacco control legislation and the Tobacco-Free Ireland policy. There have been significant delays in progressing this Bill along with other legislation, partly due to the pandemic and also, when it initially came out, due to some changes in government. There is a need to now to apply priority and pace to the rest of the legislative process. We need to catch up with much of the rest of Europe in bans on vending machines and the minimum legal age of sale for e-cigarettes. I caution that parties with a commercial interest in the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products routinely employ tactics to subvert, delay and block regulation, including sowing conflicts within governments between departments of health, business, trade, and environment.

The volume and variety of nicotine inhaling devices on the market has increased. This has been accompanied by commercial innovations on packaging, flavouring, marketing, retail strategy and the use of health claims. There is a need to decide on further regulations on nicotine-inhaling devices, if not within this Bill, then following it. There is a tension between just getting this Bill over the line and done because we have been waiting for it for a very long time versus introducing all of the regulatory measures that need to keep up with the commercial market.

The industry is diversifying its product range all the time to skirt around regulatory measures and to seek to reassure customers with unproven claims of lower risks to health. For example, we now see chewable nicotine pouches marketed in Ireland and a new range of heat-not-burn tobacco products. Therefore, there is further need for regulatory options relating in particular to the oral nicotine products that are now on sale in supermarkets.

The Department of Health and the HSE are facing challenges in directing people who smoke to the very best supports to stop smoking. We know what those are through the clinical guidelines but we cannot lose sight of the goals of Tobacco-Free Ireland and the tobacco endgame. A more ambitious and more targeted approach to tobacco- and nicotine-containing products is possible. This Bill is a very good start, but we also need commitment to a long-term programme of legislative reforms building on, but going beyond, the provisions in this specific Bill.