Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 10, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:

“PART 2

REGULATION OF NICOTINE INHALING PRODUCTS

11.(1) The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, notify the European

Commission under Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/40/EU of his intention to regulate each of the following: (a) the sale of disposable nicotine inhaling products;

(b) the flavouring of nicotine inhaling products;

(c) the packaging of nicotine inhaling products;

(d) the advertising of nicotine inhaling products. (2) The Minister may by regulation, subject to the approval of the European Commission under Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/40/EU, regulate any of the provisions of subsection (1).”.

We all understand the threat and challenge caused by the availability of vaping and the speed with which it has caught on as an activity in its own right, and one that is very attractive to young people because it is being marketed specifically to attract them. It is being marketed in a way that it is disposable, colourful and has sweet-like flavour. It is seen as a fairly cool thing to do among young people. We see the evidence of that all around us. We know this is a phenomenon that is not only very prevalent in this country but right across Europe and further afield. It is contributing to a reversal of the progress we have been making with regard to reducing smoking rates. What is the reason for any delay in acting on this?

Two years ago, we started the pre-legislative scrutiny process. We had briefing from the officials at the Joint Committee on Health. We engaged in extensive consultation and debate on these issues with a whole lot of different interests. We also know that much public opinion has been gauged through various surveys and opinion polls with regard to the public attitude to vaping. There is real concern on the part of parents in particular about the fact that this is now an activity that is very widespread among young people. We know now the whole idea is that what is happening with many of the vaping companies is that they are being taken over by tobacco companies because those companies know this is the route to getting more young people to start smoking. Vapes are not used to prevent people smoking in the main. For more seasoned smokers, let us say, there is a use there. There is no justification for vapes to be disposable. There is no justification for them to be brightly coloured or have particular flavours that mimic flavours of sweets or other flavours that are attractive to young people.

The Joint Committee on Health looked at this in considerable detail and produced a report for the Minister that contains 22 recommendations. The report was sent to him in July of 2022. As a member of the health committee, I have to ask, were we wasting our time in doing that work? What was that about? We were charged with doing pre-legislative scrutiny with regard to legislating to regulate vaping. We sent off the detailed report to the Minister and he came back to us having ignored the vast majority of the recommendations. He produced a Bill, which, in itself, is welcome insofar as it goes, but it is very limited. It precludes the sale of vapes to under-18s. There are major questions about the enforcement of that because there are huge questions about the enforcement of the sale of cigarettes and, indeed, alcohol, gambling and various other things.

We are not good at enforcement. The only justification the Minister has put forward is that he said we are required to notify Europe in terms of any proposed changes to the sale of tobacco products. That is fair enough. However, the Minister had ample time since July 2022 to notify Europe of his intentions to do that and, first of all, produce a comprehensive Bill that deals with all aspects of it - the many and emerging aspects - and provide that notification to Europe to give six months' notice of his intention to legislate. I do not know why he did not do that. I do not know why or when he and his officials were working on a vaping Bill. He did not then have a proper Bill covering all aspects of the matter. He had plenty of notice and plenty of time to do that. I find it very hard to understand why he did not do that. We did our work on the health committee.

It seems that the Minister was not inclined to take on board the recommendations that were made very clearly on the basis of the evidence that was brought before the joint committee. There is any amount of evidence from the Irish Cancer Society, which made a very strong case to the committee regarding flavours, for example, and made the point that this would not hinder adults from using vapes, but it would discourage young people. My amendment is an enabling measure. It states:

The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, notify the European Commission under Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/40/EU [which he is required to do] of his intention to regulate each of the following: (a) the sale of disposable nicotine inhaling products;

(b) the flavouring of nicotine inhaling products;

(c) the packaging ... [and there is a template there with regard to the packaging of cigarrettes];

(d) the advertising of nicotine inhaling products. The Minister may by regulation, subject to the approval of the European Commission under Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/40/EU, regulate any of the provisions of subsection (1).”.

I have identified the four key areas, namely, disposable vapes, flavourings, packaging and advertising, in the amendment, so this does not force the Minister's hand but rather enables him to legislate by statutory order, having given notice to the Commission. I urge the Minister strongly to take this on board. He has told us he is preparing legislation. Let us not have a further delay of six months after that. This puts the gun to the Minister's head to a certain extent, but he knows what is needed and there cannot be any further delay to doing what is necessary.

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