LATEST ALERTSIreland: Health minister Stephen Donnelly and public health minister Frank Feighan yesterday received government approval to add additional restrictions to the Public Health (Tobacco Inhaling Products) Bill. The proposed restrictions include a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes and related nicotine-inhaling products in vending machines and in places or events intended for children. A proposal banning the advertising of e-cigarettes on public transport, in cinemas and near schools has also been introduced. The bill is expected to be finalised by the end of the year.
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From February 2022, subscribers can view and filter individual regulatory alerts per region. If you want to get our monthly compilations, visit our alerts round-up section.
Ireland: Calls have been made to raise the legal age to 21 to purchase tobacco products and e-cigarettes, press reports. Center-right party Fine Gael health spokesperson and Cork North Central TD (Teachta Dála, a member of the Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas – the Irish Parliament) Colm Burke has called on the government to consider this option and include it in the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2019 that is currently under consideration. Burke made this proposal at an event titled "Tobacco 21: The case for raising the legal age for the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes in Ireland" to which the Irish Heart Foundation and Council of the Irish Heart Foundation, among other medical organisations, attended. Currently, Fine Gael holds 35 seats out of 160 in the Dáil Éireann and it is part of the coalition government, alongside the center-right Fianna Fáil and the Green party.
Ireland: The government is considering banning disposable e-cigarettes, press reports. The minister of state, Ossian Smyth, said that he is not against vaping products but he is concerned about the littering of electronics. "You buy this thing, it's got everything in it – the battery, the vape liquid, it's a plastic tube – and when you're finished, typically people are often throwing them on the ground. I think this is a product that actually just needs to be banned completely," he added. The minister said that there will be a public consultation before any measures are taken.
Ireland: Research by the Tobacco Free Research Institute Ireland shows that 39% of young people aged between 16 and 17 have tried vaping, while 32% have tried smoking, press reports. The main reasons given for trying e-cigarettes were primarily curiosity (66%) and having friends who vape (29%).
Ireland: The Oireachtas (parliament) Joint Health Committee is pushing for a flavour ban and age restrictions on e-cigarette sales. The committee has published a report containing submissions by stakeholders during pre-legislative scrutiny of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2019, along with its own recommendations in relation to each of the submitted proposals. It supports the regulation of vaping flavours and says all flavours except tobacco should be prohibited. It also says coloured packaging should be restricted and any form of e-cig advertising banned.
Ireland: Senators have urged stricter regulation of e-cigarettes, press reports. In discussions on the Nicotine Inhaling Products Bill, senator Diarmuid Wilson of the Fianna Fáil party said: “We must try to strike a balance between the potential benefits of e-cigarettes for adult smokers trying to quit and the risks that more non-smokers, particularly children and especially young children, will start vaping.” Senator Micheál Carrigy of Fine Gael called for further retail restrictions, including a retail licensing system.
Ireland: The Health Service Executive (HSE) has issued an alert against certain disposable products. The alert recalls disposable e-cigarettes from the Aroma King brand that are non-compliant with EU tobacco legislation. The list of the products recalled can be found on the HSE's website. The products were found to contain more than the permitted amount of nicotine (20 mg/ml or 2%).
Ireland: Today, the Joint Committee on Health discussed the Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Bill with the industry members. The trade organisation Vape Business Ireland (VBI), whose representatives attended the meeting, stated that the credible evidence supporting vaping as a less harmful alternative to smoking must not be ignored and highlighted the importance of flavours in smoking cessation. Said a VBI spokesperson: “While it is essential that we do everything we can to prevent youth access to vaping products, we must also ensure that we find a balance in protecting the 200,000 vapers right across Ireland from relapsing.”
Ireland: The Oireachtas (parliament) Health Committee is continuing its scrutiny of the Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products Bill by hearing the concerns of stakeholders, press reports. This week the Irish Vape Vendors Association (UVVA) stressed to the committee the role of vaping products in smoking cessation and criticised the threat of a flavour ban, which some medical societies have said should be included in the bill.
