Mr. Eoin O'Boyle:

I run a small, independent vape shop, OB Vape, in Southgate Shopping Centre, Drogheda, County Meath. I set up my business three years ago after working for another vape shop, where I was inspired by the transformative power of vaping in the lives of smokers who had failed to quit by other means. I am enormously grateful for the opportunity to outline to the committee my experience in providing vaping as a smoking cessation tool and to make the case for why Ireland needs to take a supportive and proportionate regulatory stance on vaping, so that all the advances in smoking cessation are not undone.

As a retailer, I am committed to providing a bespoke "quit smoking" service for adult smokers who have failed to do so while utilising the methods currently recommended by Irish health authorities. When a new customer walks into my retail shop, I conduct an initial consultation of between 30 and 40 minutes, during which I find out about their smoking habits and, accordingly, I tailor my advice and recommendations to them. The choice and selection of starter kits for those making the switch from smoking to vaping are important. The addiction to smoking is different for every smoker and my on-the-ground experience means I can match the product to the smoker seeking to quit.

I find that when smokers initially switch to vaping, they will typically use tobacco flavour. However, as their taste buds recover and as they move away from smoking completely, they often do not want to continue using tobacco flavour and tend to seek alternative options, such as fruit or mint. In the context of any debate around flavours, it is important to acknowledge and understand that adult former smokers need flavours and that their preferences change over time. This need for flavoured options also helps to explain why flavoured Nicorette lozenges are so popular for those who go down the NRT route, just as it explains why our health authorities provide information about flavoured NRT products. For those looking to get off tobacco, flavours matter enormously. One example of this importance was shown in a major Europe-wide study recently conducted by the European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates group, which found that 94.6% of current vapers use non-tobacco flavours. Members will have noticed during a previous committee session that the Department of Health official acknowledged that “flavours may be useful” in helping smokers to quit. We welcome that acknowledgement but, with the greatest of respect, those like me who work in this sector and speak to vapers every day know there is no doubt that flavours are a crucial part of what helps smokers to quit.

In that same spirit, let me briefly acquaint the committee with a customer of mine who is in her 30s and smoked cigarettes for 17 years. She found that, despite multiple attempts, she could not quit smoking until she engaged with my service. She told me that the experience my business offered made her feel cared for, and that we understood her addiction and worked continuously with her to help her quit. She has not smoked for three years at this point and is much healthier and more active. She goes to cross-fit classes, where she has the same heart rate as those who had never smoked. She is now more energised and invests more in her overall health and well-being. This story and thousands more underline the importance of having vaping available as a flexible smoking cessation tool, including the role of flavours.

I stress that nobody under the age of 18 should ever vape. I am, as are all my fellow members of VBI, fully committed to ensuring that vaping remains a smoking cessation and harm reduction tool for adults only. This means that, collectively, we adopt a blanket opposition to the sale and marketing of vaping products to those under 18. In that context, VBI members and I personally subscribe to our code of conduct and agree that advertisement of vaping products should not involve flavour names or descriptions that are associated with youth culture. Flavours are an important incentive for adult smokers seeking to quit but any attempt to exclusively target children through enticing advertisements is something to which VBI members are strongly opposed.

We also, even in the absence of such legislation, are committed to verifying the ages of our customers and selling only to those over 18. VBI members commit to proper age verification training for all their staff. In my shop, we check ID for everyone who crosses the threshold of the premises and appears to be under the age of 25, and we ask anyone under the age of 18 to leave. I do not want any minors browsing my products, let alone buying any of them. In my case, approximately 20% of my sales are conducted online, and these sales are overwhelmingly to existing local customers.

In my case, approximately 20% of my sales are conducted online. These sales are overwhelmingly to existing local customers. Even so, I am exploring with my VBI colleagues the adoption of age verification mechanisms for online sales that our counterparts in the UK have recently rolled out.

We are committed to driving the best standards in our business practices and the right regulatory framework will support us in our efforts. We want to work with all stakeholders to make the underage sales ban a success, and to ensure that nobody under the age of 18 ever accesses these products.

In conclusion, I would like to stress that there is a balance of risks for me as a trader, just as there is for the committee in deciding on this legislation. I am not always in a position, as a small retailer, to get exactly what I want in a global and digital marketplace. Proportionate regulation will be a valuable tool in my negotiations with suppliers in seeking to make sure that my products not only meet the needs of my adult customers, but are also branded as such. VBI members are keen to work with legislators to inform them of the sector’s experience and to help them get the balance of response right. Regulation and supportive Government policy can help responsible Irish vape shops in aiding smokers to quit, while also helping to ensure that young people do not access a product that is not meant for them. Regulation also must not be excessive. This would keep smokers smoking, facing proven health risks and unfortunately facing premature death.

Our organisation is proud of the role that small vaping retailers, such as mine, play every day in helping smokers to transition to far less harmful products. With the right approach from the Government, we can play an even larger role in helping to make a tobacco-free Ireland a reality.

I thank the committee for this opportunity to contribute. I look forward to answering any questions the members may have.