Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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1177. To ask the Minister for Health if she has considered the potential impact of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2024 on specialty vape shops from a ban on vape flavours; if she has quantified the potential burden that the point-of-sale display ban for vapes will have on small retailers, including in the forecourt and convenience sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24296/25]

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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1178. To ask the Minister for Health to outline if her Department has fully examined the regulatory impact analysis of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2024, which warns of the potential for smokers to relapse if vape flavours are banned; if her Department has conducted any research into the estimated number of smokers that may relapse as a result of such measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24299/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1177 and 1178 together.

The Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) for the Public Health (Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2024 was conducted by my Department. The purpose of the RIA is to describe the policy context and objectives, before identifying possible ways to achieve the objectives and the impacts of such responses.

The RIA examines the current evidence regarding the individual and population-level public health impact of vaping. It also sets out the possible impact of measures on vaping and smoking behaviour, as well as the impact on businesses. An SME test for the Bill was published as an appendix to the RIA.

This analysis has informed the final proposed measures in the Public Health (Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill. The proposals take into consideration the population-level impact of vaping and the need for a high level of health protection for young people. The proposals include provisions to monitor the impact of any restrictions on vaping and smoking among both young people and adults. It also includes provisions to amend the list of allowed flavours as new evidence presents.

The Bill is also proposed in the context of significant increases in stop smoking support via the HSE Quit Service since 2022. This includes free universal provision of Nicotine Replacement Therapies, as well as behavioural support through a range of pathways and more than double the number of clinics, to support those quitting smoking, and those looking for support to avoid relapse to smoking.

The Bill is currently being drafted, and if approved by Government it will be put to the members of the Oireachtas for consideration.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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1179. To ask the Minister for Health if her Department has examined the case of Sweden, who has reduced its smoking and cancer rates through the use of tobacco like vapes and nicotine pouches as a safer and more readily available alternative to cigarettes, in the context of the measures proposed in the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24300/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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My Department continuously monitors policy developments and best practice internationally. However, my Department is not aware of empirical evidence that Sweden's regulatory environment for nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes has a causal relationship to its current smoking rates.

The example of Sweden is used - primarily by the tobacco industry and its affiliates - to argue against regulation of alternative products in other countries. However, this minimises many factors which may have contributed to Sweden's declining smoking rates, including longstanding leadership on tobacco control and a lower smoking prevalence in the 20th Century than other European countries. It also does not take into account countries which have achieved a similar trajectory of decline with different regulatory frameworks for nicotine products, nor countries with the same regulatory framework for nicotine products which have not seen the same trajectory of decline.

For example, Ireland and Sweden have had the same regulatory framework for e-cigarettes since 2016. However, in Ireland, smoking rates have remained static since 2019 despite a significant increase in vaping rates.

The proposed measures in the Public Health (Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill take into consideration the population-level impact of vaping and the need for a high level of health protection for young people. The proposals include provisions to monitor the impact of any restrictions on vaping and smoking among both young people and adults.