Selling vapes in Ireland at events aimed at children will carry a €2,000 on-the-spot fine under new legislation.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has signed a law that applies the fine to the offence of ‘selling tobacco products or nicotine-inhaling products at events aimed at children, or where the majority of the participants or audience are children’.
The measure under the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023, which first launched in March, is intended to cut the use of vapes among children and young people.
Mr Donnelly said: “I welcome the coming into operation of further provisions of our 2023 Act. I am developing new tobacco control law, bringing law through the Houses and implementing law that has already passed.
“The urgency is to save lives that are being lost because of a common commercial product that kills.”
Keeping vapes available to adult smokers
The minister added that he remains committed to ensuring vapes are available to adult smokers trying to quit, while putting them more out of reach to children.
He said: “I am determined to help smokers to quit, to prevent new smokers being created through experimentation with tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products and to use every means at my disposal to protect the health of our population and especially of our children.”
Last week, the government in Ireland approved the drafting of the Public Health (Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill, which will regulate packaging, flavours and retail display of vaping products and ban disposable vapes.
Fears strict new laws will increase smoking rates
Anti-smoking campaigners and vape advocates have warned the move is likely to increase Ireland’s already high smoking rates. They say it goes against the government’s own data showing that vapes - especially with flavours - are important tools for smokers wanting to quit.
Mr Donnelly is also expected to bring the Public Health (Tobacco) Amendment Bill through the Dáil (part of the law making branch of the Irish State) in the coming weeks, which would make Ireland the first country in the European Union to set a minimum legal age of 21 for the sale of tobacco products.
There are fears, however, that the package of restrictions on vapes could fuel the black market, which happened in Australia after the government there banned the products outside of pharmacies.
