The Irish government has moved to ban disposable vapes and most flavours.
Cabinet approval was given earlier this week to draft laws tabled by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
Under the proposed new laws, which are expected to be approved, the sale, manufacture or import of single-use or disposable vapes will be illegal in Ireland.
The legislation also includes a ban on a multitude of flavours that the government believes often appeal to children.
Fears the move could increase smoking rates
Anti-smoking campaigners and vape advocates warn 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.
In 2023, the Department of Health’s “Healthy Ireland Survey” found that 25 per cent of adults who quit smoking used vapes to do so. The National Drug and Alcohol Survey found that nearly 77 per cent of vapers use vapes to get off or stay off cigarettes or to cut down on their smoking.
And in 2024, the Department’s Public Consultation on the Further Regulation of Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products showed that 62.8 per cent of respondents were opposed to regulating vape flavours – and 6,000 of these respondents had completely stopped smoking with the help of vapes.
There are also fears that the restrictions could fuel the black market, which happened in Australia after the government there banned vapes outside of pharmacies.
Ban on displays and advertising
The new laws will also include a ban on the point-of-sale display or advertising of vapes in shops, other than specialist shops that only sell the products, as well as any colours and imagery on packages.
Ireland has already banned the sale of all nicotine inhaling products to under 18s and introduced a range of other curbs such as advertising, pop-up shop sales. A ban on the sale of vapes from vending machines will kick in next year.
Mr Donnelly has said the plans to introduce a ban are on “environmental and public health grounds”.
The government says that single-use vapes are relatively inexpensive and are often "an impulse purchase in shops and disproportionately used by younger people who often experiment with them".
Environmental impact
The impact on the environment includes littering and being incorrectly disposed of in bins (they should be recycled due to plastics and battery), as well as the release of toxic compounds.
The new laws are likely to be followed by further restrictions. The minister for health says he is concerned that vapes sold in Ireland contain the maximum permitted levels of nicotine (20mg) and on their own are not an effective means of quitting cigarette smoking.
