Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

It is amazing how the market changes. One issue that is now on the market is high puff count vaping devices. They have exploded onto the Irish market in a short period. They are known as carousel or click-on vape devices, but they are commonly known as “big puff”. While they do not breach existing laws because their tanks contain 2 ml of vape liquid, big puff disposable vapes are in clear breach of the spirit of existing legislation as they have supplementary tanks. It just goes to show how the market responds where there is legislation or regulation and how it is able to sideline that.

We should look closely at what the Irish Heart Foundation has set out in its recommendations. It recommends that any product containing nicotine should first have to be granted approval by the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HRPA, before being placed on the market; future-proof legislation that prohibits the marketing, selling and distribution of disposable vapes and prevents any novel disposable vapes circumventing the rules to enter the market; a complete prohibition of the marketing, selling and distribution of nicotine pouches and any novel nicotine products, nicotine gummies or nicotine strips; a ban on all e-cigarette flavours, bar tobacco, by restricting the permitted flavouring ingredients to a limited few e-liquids with a tobacco flavour, as has been introduced in the Netherlands; an immediate ban on all e-cigarette products advertising through all communication media, including outdoor arenas, billboards, buses, at points of sales and online; the introduction of plain packaging for all e-cigarettes; a ban on the online sale of e-cigarettes and nicotine products; and an increase to the legal age of the sale of e-cigarettes from 18 to 21, as has been done in the USA. Basically, this is what the Irish Heart Foundation has set out because it has a lot of experience in dealing with the effects and use of tobacco.

We have clear evidence that when people start off with vapes, they tend to go on to tobacco products and then suffer the health consequences as a result. Even with vapes, there is growing evidence that they have adverse effects on people’s health. We need, therefore, to ensure those products are not allowed on the market. The problem we have with the people who produce these products is that they are not worried about the negative effects they may have on people; they are only interested in profit. They will use any mechanism they can to sell the product, and the easiest market to get at is young people. That is why we need to ensure we have the required legislation in place that not only prevents these products from coming onto the market, but also the sidelining of regulations and legislation. It is therefore extremely important that we bring in robust and comprehensive legislation that cannot be sidestepped in any way.

I agree with my colleague, Deputy Byrne, that we need to urgently bring forward the legislation so that we can bring in the necessary controls and regulations.

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