Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. Fianna Fáil, as the Chair and Minister know, believes in the delivery of fundamental public health services to the highest standard, through investment, innovation and of course reform, which this really falls under. In government, we have continued to support the reform of our health services and have implemented universal health care that is accessible and affordable for all. I want to commend the Bill that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, has brought in front of us today. It is another important step in protecting the health and well-being of our young people.

The primary objective of the Bill is to regulate the retail sale of tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products, including the introduction of a licensing system and further restriction on the sale of these products. We always have to remember that smoking remains the single leading cause of preventable ill health, disability and premature mortality in Ireland. Current estimates are that 4,500 people in Ireland die from tobacco each year. Sadly, ten years ago, my dad was one of those and even though he had given up smoking 15 years before, as the doctors said at the time, the damage was done and he died from lung cancer. I have the good fortune to have inherited many of his personality traits and characteristics but I am really glad that smoking was not one of them.I always remember him talking about starting to smoke at the age of nine but nobody knew then that tobacco was bad. It was a cool thing to do. That was a nine-year-old starting smoking. We can easily see vaping and such products being taken up by nine-year-olds, so we absolutely have a responsibility to act when we can.

It is almost a year since the Government approved the addition of two programme for Government commitments to the general scheme of the Bill, first, restricting the type of retailers that can sell nicotine inhaling products and, second, curbing the advertising of nicotine inhaling products near schools, on public transport and in cinemas, which is very important. It is fitting that this Bill is coming from Fianna Fáil. As we all know, our party leader, the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, implemented the smoking ban in 2004. Ireland was the first country in the world to do this. It was a controversial issue at the time and a decision that took significant political bravery but I think we can all agree it was the right decision at the right time. I have no doubt that we will look back on this Bill in years to come and will reach the same conclusion.

The HSE has warned that vaping is an emerging risk to the health of children and young people. E-cigarette use has been linked with acute harms, including poisoning, burns, fractures, lung injury and asthma exacerbation. Early evidence links e-cigarettes to cardiovascular and respiratory tissue damage. It is sad that we see how common vaping has become among children and young people, with data from 2018 showing that one in ten children and young people aged 12 to 17 used an e-cigarette in the last 30 days. When driving by schools, we often see young people vaping when going into and coming out of school. Data focused on 16-year-olds found that one in five were using e-cigarettes in 2019, double the figure in 2015, and if it has doubled again by this stage, it must be one in every two or three. It has become so bad that one former secondary school principal has said that schools are facing a new epidemic of students vaping. It is a growing phenomenon and one we absolutely need to tackle. The colours, flavours and branding are all geared towards younger people.

We need to be very clear about the health risks associated with vaping. It is not cool or trendy; it is a significant health hazard. According to the Health Research Board in its 2019-20 national drug and alcohol survey, 17.4% of respondents indicated that they had smoked in the prior 30-day period, corresponding to 680,000 of the general population in Ireland aged 15 and older. Almost four in ten students had tried cigarettes and almost one in five were current users. That all leads us to know that this legislation is needed. I welcome the Bill and look forward to seeing it pass through these Houses.