Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 1 March 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health
General Scheme of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill: Discussion (Resumed)
Mr. John Dunne:
I think the Senator is right. There is obviously an opportunity for VBI to do a better job of recruiting members. However, one of the issues we face in this State is that there is a reasonably pessimistic view from both retailers and the public around vaping as whole. If we were to see that change, and if we were to see public health getting behind vaping, as is done in the UK, we would see a very different picture here. There is an opportunity to encourage retailers to do the right thing and to join a retail group but that is always a challenge. It is especially a challenge at the moment, when retailers are struggling to keep their heads above water, having gone through a two-year adverse trading period. People are looking at how they spend their money. Obviously, there is a cost to being involved in an association.