Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)

I acknowledge that the Minister of State mentioned legislation is coming down the line. This is really welcome but it cannot come soon enough. If it is sensible and gets to the core of the issue, the Minister of State will receive support on it. Again, as Deputy Graves said, we are again having statements. There is a vacuum, and when there is a vacuum it is like the Wild West when it comes to vape shops. They are popping up all over the place. There is nothing to stop them from popping up outside schools. I walk through Clondalkin village and have noted there are vape shops throughout. With their bright lights and colours, they are lit up like Christmas trees. They are enticing young people to come in, and this is a deliberate marketing ploy. The colours are vibrant and attractive. Residents have contacted me about young people who are regularly seen going into the shops in their uniforms to buy vapes. There seems to be no regulation or policing of these issues. Vapes are definitely being sold to underage people.

The Minister of State mentioned the flavours of vapes. You have to look at the flavours. They are like something out of a sweetshop or in a cocktail, not what you would find in a tobacco shop. They include blueberry, sour raspberry, pineapple ice, lemon and lime, banana ice, menthol, and pink lemonade. I could go on and on. This is another thing that does not happen by accident; it is a deliberate marketing ploy by the vape shops.

There is also an issue in that vape shops argue vapes are a cessation method. What they are actually doing is encouraging the next generation of vapers or smokers. We have statistics and the Minister of State mentioned some herself. One in four people between 15 and 16 has vaped. One in five between 15 and 16 is currently using. We know the dangers of smoking. They have been well researched and have been known for a long time, but we do not know the long-term effects of vaping because the relevant studies have not been done yet.

The legislation the Minister of State talked about needs to be introduced as soon as possible to stop the vapers of today becoming the smokers of the future.

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