Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The health of the citizens of the EU is much better today because of the restrictions that we have put on smoking and tobacco products over the last 20 years. Credit where credit is due; this State led the way when it introduced a ban on smoking in certain places to protect people’s health. At an EU level, my colleague, Martina Anderson, was one of the rapporteurs on the tobacco products directive to heavily regulate the packaging, labelling, advertising and taxation of tobacco products, all designed to discourage smoking. I note that at the time Fine Gael MEPs did not support the inclusion of vaping and e-cigarettes in that directive. One of the points that those of us who were fighting hard to have vaping products included made was the exact one that Senator Conway made; that this was a gateway for the tobacco industry to move into. It saw the writing on the wall so it had an alternative product available to push tobacco products onto young people and develop a new generation of smokers. It is unfortunate that this was not supported at an EU level but we are where we are.

It has taken a long time for us all to stand up to the tobacco industry but this debate needs to be medically led and based on the most up-to-date scientific research available. I note that the HSE advises caution against vaping because of the risks it poses to people’s health. Its advice is firm and pointed and says not to smoke or vape. It points out that vaping is nicotine based; nicotine is dangerous; vaping is poisonous and toxic; and vaping affects the normal working of the heart, lungs and other organs. It encourages people to not use vaping to stop smoking. There was a strong narrative for a long number of years on behalf of those pushing vaping products that this was seen as a way of giving up smoking. Two recent studies in the last three weeks have further confirmed the cardiovascular effects of cigarettes and e-cigarettes and they found that they restrict blood vessel function and cause heart arrhythmia.

This motion correctly calls for the HSE assessment to be elevated to "a policy and statutory footing", which is welcome, and it further calls for vaping to be banned indoors at workplaces, in public spaces and in communal areas. I also wholeheartedly agree with that because there is nothing worse than being in an enclosed space with the smell of the multiple different flavours that vapes and e-cigarettes come in. I also agree with the proposal on vapes and e-cigarettes carrying those warning displays, but as I said that could have been done a few years ago in the tobacco directive.

In July of this year, as others have said, the Joint Committee on Health produced a report into the measures in place and the proposed measures to strengthen the licensing system for the retail sale of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Its report noted that "great strides" had been made in reducing smoking levels but that more needed to be done to "ensure a smoke-free future for younger people". The Sinn Féin Seanad team wholeheartedly supports this motion. That European vote was regrettable, and the Fine Gael group has had the Ministry of Health for a long time-----