Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am responding to this motion on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Government. I thank Senators Maria Byrne and Conway who have tabled this motion on the regulation of the use of e-cigarettes. I thank Senators Boyhan, Clifford-Lee and Boylan for their interventions, which have been very helpful.

Tobacco control is part of my brief so I welcome this opportunity to bring focus and attention to this important area of work and to update the House on the progress and plans for the future. As Senators have outlined, e-cigarettes are an area of significant focus for us, both at a policy level and in legislation. This is reflected in the way that e-cigarettes are already regulated here and in our proposals for further regulation of these products into the future. E-cigarettes are already strongly regulated in Ireland. In 2016, the European Union (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco and Related Products) Regulations 2016 were signed into Irish law. Under these regulations it is a mandatory requirement that e-cigarette packaging must contain a health warning, which advises consumers that e-cigarettes contain nicotine and that nicotine is a highly addictive substance. E-cigarettes must meet mandatory safety and quality requirements.This includes law on maximum nicotine concentrations for e-cigarettes and maximum volumes for cartridges, tanks and nicotine liquid containers. E-cigarette manufacturers or importers are required to notify the HSE of all products they place on the market and if a manufacturer, importer or distributor has reason to believe a product is not safe, it is required to immediately notify the HSE and explain what corrective action has been taken.

There is a ban on advertisements for e-cigarettes in printed publications and online. The only exceptions are advertisements directed at persons in the e-cigarette industry or publications printed and published outside the EU and intended for markets outside the EU. There is a total ban on advertisements for e-cigarettes on television and radio. There is a ban on sponsorship. The regulations prohibit any form of contribution to an event, activity or person with the aim of promoting e-cigarettes with a cross-border effect. These measures are contained in the EU tobacco products directive. The European Commission is reviewing that directive and has already made clear its intention to introduce stronger measures on e-cigarettes. Ireland is actively engaging in the process of revising the directive and I look forward to the outcome of that process in 2023.

In the meantime, we are taking action to address the usage of e-cigarettes in Ireland. The Office of the Attorney General is drafting the public health (tobacco and nicotine inhaling products) Bill. One of the main measures in the Bill is to provide for a mandatory licensing system for the retail sale of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products such as e-cigarettes. This means that any businesses or persons who wish to sell tobacco products or e-cigarettes must apply for and be granted a licence or they will not be entitled to sell these products. This licensing system will replace the current system which applies only to tobacco products.

As Senators will be aware, under the current system, a retailer who wishes to sell tobacco products must register with the environmental health service and pay a once-off fee of €50. Once registered, the retailer can sell in any number of retail outlets for any number of years without needing to register again. In addition, there are very few requirements on those registering to sell tobacco products. For example, there is no minimum age and no necessity to show tax compliance. There is no registration requirement for those selling e-cigarettes. Under the proposed licensing system, a retailer who wishes to sell tobacco products must apply for an annual licence for each outlet where tobacco is sold. The applicant must provide certain information and documentation and must pay an annual fee per outlet. An application may be refused by the environmental health service if the person does not meet the requirements for a licence. For example, if the applicant has not attained the age of 18.

The overriding rationale for introducing a licensing system is to facilitate the enforcement of key tobacco control measures such as the prohibition of the sale to minors or advertising at the point of sale. The new system will provide the regulatory authority with up to date information on where tobacco is sold and will thus facilitate the monitoring and enforcement of tobacco control legislation. The system will also better reflect the harmful nature of tobacco and bring it more in line with licensing regimes for the retail of other potentially harmful products such as alcohol, firearms and petroleum. The Bill will apply the same requirements to those wishing to sell nicotine inhaling products such as e-cigarettes.

The requirement for a licence is being introduced in recognition that these products contain nicotine, which, as the Senator pointed out, is an addictive drug. The Bill will also ban the sale of nicotine inhaling products to persons aged under 18 years. The sale of tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age is already prohibited under section 45 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 and we are bringing e-cigarette law into line with the law on tobacco products with this measure. This ban on the sale of nicotine inhaling products to minors is proposed because they are not ordinary consumer goods. These products contain nicotine which is a highly addictive substance and evidence from studies of tobacco smoking shows that the younger people are when they start smoking, the more difficult it is for them to break the nicotine addiction. These same concerns arise with e-cigarettes. In addition, the evidence is still unclear on whether nicotine inhaling products causes any long-term health effects and on this basis it is important we protect our children from these risks.

The Bill will also prohibit the sale of tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products by persons under the age of 18 with the exception of close relatives of the licensee. Prohibiting the sale of tobacco products by those aged under 18 years is a recommendation of Tobacco Free Ireland and the Bill is extending this prohibition to e-cigarettes. This measure is designed to reduce the exposure of young workers in retail to tobacco and nicotine inhaling products. It will serve to highlight the serious and addictive nature of the products by providing that only an adult may sell them. In addition, it is designed to reduce instances of peer pressure on minors to sell those products to other minors. It is important to note that the Bill will provide that the licensee of the retail outlet will be liable for the offence in such a case and not the person aged under 18.

The programme for Government contains additional commitments on e-cigarettes which are not currently part of the Bill, namely, to restrict the type of retailers that can sell nicotine inhaling products and to curb the advertising of nicotine inhaling products near schools, on public transport and in cinemas. Consideration is being given to adding these proposals to the public health (tobacco and nicotine inhaling products) Bill.

We are developing our own legislation as well as making our voices heard in the debates in Brussels on future EU law. We are moving forward and at all stages we are guided by public health evidence. In October 2020, the Health Research Board, HRB, published three evidence reviews it had conducted at the request of the Minister for Health on whether e-cigarettes are an effective aid for smoking cessation; whether e-cigarette use by adolescents leads to subsequent smoking in adolescence; and what the health harms and possible benefits are of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products. The main findings of these reviews were that e-cigarettes are as effective as approved nicotine replacement therapies for smoking cessation at six months, but more research is needed to establish their safety and effectiveness in the long term; e-cigarette use is associated with an increased likelihood of smoking in adolescence; e-cigarettes are not harmless but may represent a reduction in harm relative to smoking; and more research is needed to establish the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products. We will continue to follow the evidence and try to strike the right balance between protecting those who do not smoke or vape from these products while recognising that the current evidence tells us that they represent a reduction in harm relative to smoking.

I have already outlined the measures in the public health (tobacco and nicotine inhaling products) Bill that deal with e-cigarettes. The Bill also contains significant measures on tobacco smoking with a particular focus on interventions to prevent young people from starting to smoke. The reason for our focus on tobacco are stark. Tobacco smoking continues to kill 4,500 members of our population every year. In the long term, smoking causes a range of illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, stroke and 16 types of cancer. These entirely preventable illnesses may not develop for 30 years after the initiation of smoking. In the shorter term, smoking during childhood and adolescence both reduce lung function and impaired lung growth. There is also evidence that smoking during adolescence increases the risk of developing psychiatric disorders and cognitive impairment in later life.In addition, adolescent smokers suffer from attention deficits which became worse with years of smoking.

The measures that will be proposed in our Bill are designed to reduce the likelihood of a young person trying these new cigarettes or trying to vape and paying for this experiment with a lifetime of addiction and illness. I thank the House for the opportunity to discuss this important public health issue. I look forward to the proposed measures in the Bill when it is brought to the House in the new year. I thank Senator Maria Byrne, who spoke about needing to ban vaping indoors, in cars and in public places. She also explained how vaping can be a gateway to smoking. Senator Conway outlined forcefully some powerful ways to stop vaping. I have seen that myself. It seems to be a trend - I will not say a habit - but even though a trend can sometimes be positive, it can also lead to negative effects. I thank Senator Boylan for being supportive of the Bill. Senator Clifford-Lee spoke about the new Bill which is being drafted and will be published by the end of the year. I thank the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, who introduced significant legislation at the end of March 2004.