Ireland’s prime minister has signalled support for an outright ban on vapes, claiming they are “nearly worse than cigarettes” despite evidence that nicotine vaping is far less harmful than smoking.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin made the comments at the end of Fianna Fáil’s think-in in Tullamore, County Offaly, on Tuesday. His remarks followed discussions about using planning restrictions to limit the number of vape shops.

“Vapes are nearly worse than cigarettes. We don’t know what’s in them; they’re damaging to the lungs,” he told reporters, according to The Irish Times.

Support for a ban

Martin indicated that he favoured an outright ban when asked about the prospect, and expressed similar concerns about nicotine pouches.

The Irish Examiner reported that Martin also wanted councils to examine the concentration of vape shops in Irish towns.

He said party colleagues had raised concerns about the number of outlets on individual streets, including their effect on the appearance of town centres. Planning controls were suggested as a way to address this.

Martin also questioned vaping’s role as an alternative to cigarettes, invoking concerns about lung damage and the substances products contain.

What the evidence says

His comparison with cigarettes conflicts with NHS guidance, which says vaping exposes users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking.

The NHS advises that switching from smoking to vaping reduces exposure to substances that can cause cancer, lung disease and cardiovascular disease. It also stresses that vaping carries risks and non-smokers should never take it up.

A recent updated Cochrane review also found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes help more people stop smoking than nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and gum.

The review examined 80 randomised controlled trials involving 29,861 participants. It found that nicotine vapes produced around four additional quitters for every 100 people compared with nicotine replacement therapy.

Senior author Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce said: “We have very strong evidence that regulated nicotine e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than smoking.”

The researchers stressed that their findings concern regulated nicotine-containing products.

Ireland misses its smoking target

Martin’s support for a vape ban comes after Ireland missed its target to bring smoking rates below five per cent by 2025.

The Healthy Ireland Survey 2025 found that 17 per cent of people aged 15 and over smoked, more than three times the threshold set out in the government’s Tobacco Free Ireland policy.

Thirteen per cent smoked daily and four per cent occasionally, while eight per cent used vapes.

Announcing the findings, the Department of Health said both smoking and vaping rates had remained unchanged for the previous two years.