Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)

Vapes and nicotine products are the absolute bane of parents' lives. I have been contacted many times by parents asking what can be done about vapes, their contents, how they look and how they are sold. I am speaking not only as a TD but as a mother and somebody who has worked with children and young people for many decades. As previous contributors have said, school principals and school communities are really looking for guidance on this.

What galls me most is that vapes are being targeted at young people. I know from talking to young people that they can get a vape that matches their outfit when they go to a party. Companies are absolutely marketing then so that young people will buy them. They go to a party and have a fantastic time. They are wearing whatever it is and their vape matches it. If I was young person now, I would probably be doing the same. Companies are very smart in how they are doing this, but we have to protect young people. They are not allowed to be sold under-18s. I genuinely want to know if anyone has ever been prosecuted over that. Has anybody ever come before the courts for selling nicotine vapes to young people who are under 18?

HHC, hexahydrocannabinol, is a controlled substance and illegal. I was contacted by a parent in my constituency asking why her 14-year-old child and the child's friends were able to buy that. Why is she catching them using this? If that is illegal, they are not supposed to be buying vapes in the first place and we have legislation, why is it not being acted on?

I agree with previous speakers about having statements here. As a legislator, I would much rather be in here making sure that we are creating legislation that is not just sitting on a shelf but is actually able to be enacted so that we prevent young people from being taken advantage of by these big companies that want to make money over the health of our young people.

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