Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)

I will also highlight the growing concern about vaping and nicotine use among young people. While vapes are often marketed as safer alternatives to smoking, the reality is far more troubling. Vapes and similar products, such as nicotine pouches, pose a very serious health risk, particularly for young people whose brains are still developing.

This scourge of modern society, as we could call it, is nearly everywhere. They are sold in every local shop, as previous contributors mentioned. In my constituency, there are dedicated vape shops in Gorey and Arklow. Vapes pose serious health risks. They can lead to nicotine addiction affecting brain development, mood, concentration and memory. They contribute to health issues, mental health issues and a transition to smoke and tobacco products. Companies are manipulating young people, as mentioned, through clever marketing tactics, having vapes cheaper than cigarettes and as my colleague, Deputy Ward, said, in appealing flavours, designs and colours, and a very strong social media presence, especially on TikTok and other platforms. Irish research showed that 23% of 15- to 17-year-olds vape regularly and teenagers who vape are three to five times more likely to start smoking compared with those who never vaped.

Vapes are also harmful to the environment. In the UK, 5 million disposable vapes are thrown away every week, so we then have plastic, heavy metals, nicotine, salts and lithium batteries in the environment. As I said, most of the popular vape brands are owned by the big tobacco companies. In Ireland, an estimated 12.5 million disposable vapes were sold in 2022, most of which ended up in landfill as plastic waste.

Vaping is far from harmless. It poses serious health and environmental risks. Of course, as always, the same industries that profited from tobacco addiction for decades, going back to the fifties when they told us how great smoking was for us, are now aggressively targeting a new generation of customers. We must take action. We need to protect youth through education, regulation and awareness. Sinn Féin wants to see legislation introduced in this Chamber to regulate the marketing of vapes and ban disposable vapes, which are basically the equivalent of smoking a battery. They are in the most dangerous form, both for children's health and the environment.

Let us ensure that the next generation is informed, supported and safeguarded from the dangers of nicotine addiction, which is orchestrated in a very manipulative way by the tobacco industry. I would appreciate whatever the Minister of State can do on this issue.

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