Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, is very welcome to Seanad Éireann.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. The matter I am raising is one I have raised regularly in the House and which has been raised very regularly with me by members of community youth groups like the No Name Club and Foróige and I have also observed it myself. It is the proliferation of vaping, especially vape shops, across every town and village in Ireland. It happened very quickly, so obviously regulation has not caught up with it. My point this morning is that tobacco regulations should be expanded to include vaping products. Just yesterday evening I noticed in a shop that the space behind the counter where the tobacco advertising used to be, which is now concealed and covered, displays branding for disposable vapes. We need to remove single-use vapes but we also need to remove the product placement from such prominent positions in shops, as this encourages vaping.

We do not know the health risks of it. We did not know the health risks of tobacco in the early days but we have learned how devastating that was. We do not know what the full effects of vaping may mean in the long term. It needs to be treated very seriously and that is why I have raised it. A key aspect is the placement of the products, particularly in shops that are dedicated to vaping and encouraging the use of vaping products. The association with candy and sweets is clearly a cynical move to target young people in particular to use it as a stepping stone or to get them addicted to vaping products. We need to have strong regulation on this and treat it like tobacco. People can still have a choice but vaping cannot be proliferated and done in a cynical way that is targeting young and vulnerable people. As well as that, the variety of flavours is very targeted at young people and tries to make it as accessible and attractive as possible even though this is an addictive substance.

I would welcome support on tackling this, tackling the decline of our high streets due to presence of these vaping shops and also the cynical efforts being made to attract our young people to vaping. I welcome the Minister of State's feedback on it.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before the Minister of State responds we welcome visitors from St. Cronan's Junior National School in Swords. They may not be aware that the rule in Seanad Éireann is that if there is a visiting school there is no homework for the rest of the week. They might not have homework for the rest of the week but they can carry it over. For the teachers there is no work during the school holidays either. You are all most welcome to Seanad Éireann and thanks for coming.

Anois, an Aire Stáit.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I too welcome the students to the House. I hope they have an enjoyable day in Leinster House.

I thank Senator Duffy for raising this very important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health. Nobody can deny we have seen an increase in vaping in recent years, particularly among young people. Work is already under way to tackle it. The Senator specifically raised the issues of regulation of retailers and the marketing of these products to young people, so I will focus on those in my response.

First of all, the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 brought in a minimum age of sale of 18 for nicotine inhaling products and will introduce a licensing system for the retail sale of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products. Currently there is a one-off registration system for tobacco and no registration system for the sale of nicotine inhaling products such as vapes. This has led to vapes being sold in the likes of sweet shops, butchers, phone repair shops and fast food takeaways. From February 2026, retailers will have to apply annually for a licence, including a declaration that they comply with all relevant law in this area.There will be increased penalties for retailers who commit offences, including minimum licence suspension periods and revocation of the licence entirely for retailers who commit two or more serious offences, such as selling to a minor. This Act will also prohibit the sale of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products from self-service vending machines and events aimed at children, and licences will not be granted to temporary or moveable premises, such as those at festivals.

Regarding the marketing of nicotine inhaling products, advertising of these products is already prohibited online, in print, on TV and on radio. The 2023 Act expanded this to include restrictions near schools, on public transport and in cinemas. The Government is taking regulation of the retail environment and restrictions on marketing further in legislation that is currently being drafted by the Minister for Health. The public health (nicotine inhaling products) Bill will require shops to hide nicotine inhaling products in the same way as they do for tobacco so that they are out of sight in shops where children may be present. As with tobacco, this will not apply to shops that only sell nicotine inhaling products. However, the legislation will also introduce an advertising ban in all retail premises where nicotine inhaling products are sold.

It will also regulate the actual product characteristics to reduce their appeal to young people. This includes restrictions on the use of colours and imagery on devices and their packaging so that any products on display or seen by young people are not brightly coloured or covered in cartoons. It will also include a ban on devices which resemble toys or games, which the Senator referenced in his opening remarks, for the same obvious reasons. The Bill will significantly restrict the flavours available for sale and ensure only basic flavour names are used. The Bill will also prohibit the sale of single-use vapes, as these are disproportionately used by young people, not to mention the environmental impacts associated with them.

In short, the Government has already taken steps in this area, but there are more items to progress. The Minister hopes the Senator and colleagues in this House will support the upcoming implementation of the 2023 Act and the new proposed legislation when it comes before the Oireachtas.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, for a very positive reply. I welcome all of the proposals. The minimum age for the nicotine inhaling products has been very welcomed, but to limit the retail sale of it in areas such as shops, butchers and phone repair shops, where it is clearly being cynically targeted at young people, is where we need to tackle it most. I am pleased with the reply. My main question is when this may take effect. The reply is 100% satisfactory, very welcomed and I am very pleased by it. I look forward to seeing this introduced as soon as possible. When will this take effect? All of the measures here will have a marked difference and improvement on public health and, it is hoped, will reduce the uptake of vaping by young people.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising what is a very important issue. The Minister is committed to bringing this legislation forward. The Senator rightly pointed out that the targeting of young people by the tobacco and nicotine industries is not a new issue, and that is why we as Government are committed to tackling issues such as the single-use vapes, advertising and the display of these products to protect our young people and our population. There has been a huge increase in shops across Ireland selling vapes and we want to tackle that. The measures the Minister is looking to bring forward are a proactive step in the right direction. We want as a Government to ensure we have achieved the target of less than 5% of the population smoking. Everything the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is doing in the space of health is in the form of proactive measures to protect people. We look forward to working with this House and the Dáil in progressing those changes.