Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I can accept the Minister's point. We need to broaden the debate as the issue is not just tobacco but nicotine. Nicotine is being consumed through vaping. Once a person is addicted to nicotine it can lead him or her towards the path of smoking and tobacco substitutes. We will have to confront this issue at some stage. The concern is that a young person may start out by vaping, thinking it is harmless. It may be harmless in the context of not damaging his or her health initially but he or she may become addicted to nicotine. When the urge comes on and they do not have the vapouriser, they will reach for a cigarette. I, too, have major concerns and we will have to look at this in order that we do not allow another generation to become slaves to nicotine. How they get the nicotine into their body is the question and that can lead to the drift from vaping, to nicotine addiction to people taking up cigarettes at a later stage.

I understand there is an exemption under the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 for cigars and pipe tobacco products. Is there a regulation to allow for the exemption of these products in this Bill?