Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)

As both a legislator and a doctor, I cannot overstate my concern at the rise of vaping among young people in Ireland. What began as a tool to help adults to quit smoking has been transformed into a product designed to recruit a new generation of nicotine users. The industry has succeeded in making vapes appear harmless, fashionable and accessible and the result is a surge in adolescent uptake. The evidence is unambiguous. Almost four in ten Irish 16-year-olds have tried vaping and 15% of them use vapes. Disposable devices in particular, have exploded in popularity. A UK survey shows their use among 11- to 17-year-olds increasing ninefold in just two years. We now know the majority of Irish teenagers who vape have never smoked. Vaping is not a bridge out of tobacco; it is a gateway into nicotine dependency. As a clinician, I find this deeply troubling. Nicotine is not benign. In adolescence, it disrupts brain development, impairs concentration, fuels anxiety and entrenches addiction. The New England Journal of Medicine has already described cases of airway scarring linked to chronic vaping. International evidence confirms that young people who vape are several times more likely to progress to cigarette smoking.

The Government has acted, and rightly so. The ban on sales to under-18s, the curbs on advertising and the upcoming tax on e-liquids are all necessary steps. However, the reality is that the pace of change in the marketplace is outstripping the pace of regulation. A ban on disposable vapes, tighter controls on flavours and packaging and far stronger action on online promotion must follow. We should also recognise that policy alone is not enough. Prevention requires education in schools, in families and among health professionals. Young people need clear, credible information, not marketing masquerading as lifestyle advice. The decline in smoking rates during the past 30 years shows progress is possible but unless our new legislation anticipates and pre-empts the next wave of nicotine products - whether pouches, heated tobacco or other substitutes - we risk replacing one epidemic of addiction with another.

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