Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

My colleagues will talk about the wider issue of vapes. I will take this opportunity to talk about another product that in a very similar vein is causing huge problems for teenagers, namely, nicotine pouches. I do not know whether the Minister of State is familiar with them. They are small white pouches you can buy in any corner shop. You put them on your gum, underneath your lip, and they directly and very quickly give you a very strong hit of nicotine. They can be bought in packs for I think €5 or €7. They are very colourful and really marketed towards children. It is very similar to the vapes in that they have different flavours and the marketing is very eye-catching.

These pouches are prevalent in many of our secondary schools because there is no regulation of them in Ireland, meaning there is no age restrictions, no restrictions on the sale of them, the packaging or anything like that. As governments controlled how tobacco was marketed, especially to under-18s, and are now going towards vapes, the industry is coming up with a new technique of making money and the nicotine pouches are that technique. Unfortunately, as I said, many teenagers are now using them and are addicted to them. The principals’ association has twice called on the HSE to provide guidance on these but this has not yet happened. This is a product that is causing huge problems for our teens, and health problems as well, and we are just too reactive in dealing with it. It is taking too long to deal with this. I started raising the issue of nicotine pouches nearly two years ago now when Stephen Donnelly was the Minister and I have repeatedly asked for them to be regulated. Now is the opportunity to deal with these, rather than waiting a number of years or until Europe deals with them. We need to take control of this and provide the regulation. They should not be for sale to under-18s. They should not be marketed to children. They should not be flavoured. We should not be allowing a company or different companies to give them away free. You can sign up on their websites and get them free. You can go to concerts and get them free there. They are heavily promoted towards teenagers. I ask the Minister of State and the Government to deal with this now and not to wait for two or three years, when the problem is too big to deal with and we have a whole generation of children addicted to these products. I also ask the Minister of State to ensure the HSE urgently provides the guidance the school principals have requested, because schools are finding it difficult to deal with this issue and it is a big problem for them as well.

See this speech in context