Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin has branded vaping as “evil” and “the revenge of Big Tobacco” as he called for “the strongest possible measures” to restrict its use.
Speaking at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin on Monday, Martin claimed the rise of vaping was a deliberate strategy by the tobacco industry to “get nicotine back on the agenda.”
He described the industry’s tactics as “disgraceful,” particularly in targeting younger people through flavours and product placement.
“All the same issues we had to deal with in respect to cigarettes, we have to deal with vaping,” he said. “The same tactics designed by the tobacco industry are absolutely in evidence here in respect of vaping, to a disgraceful degree.”
His comments have drawn criticism from public health experts, who warn that equating vaping with smoking risks undermining harm reduction efforts and could push adult smokers back to combustible tobacco.
Smoking remains the primary cause of preventable death globally, while regulated vapes have not been directly linked to any deaths. Vaping has also been proven not to cause any tobacco-related diseases.
‘Significant restrictions’ ahead
Martin said vaping had “caught us off guard,” but noted Ireland had moved to introduce significant restrictions, due to take effect next February. “We will have significant restrictions coming in next February as a result of legislation passed by the last government,” he said. Measures will include limits on sales, packaging regulations, and bans on pop-up vape shops.
“The international research is there now and our own public health is at the same point in terms of the evil of vaping and the damage it does to people, young people and adults alike,” he added. “Any measures that reduce or eliminate vapes would be positive from the perspective of public health.”
At the same event, World Health Organisation (WHO) director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Ireland had long been at the forefront of tobacco control, including being “the first country to make all indoor public places smoke-free in 2004.”
Vapes part of tobacco’s ‘broader strategy’
“No matter how it’s packaged, tobacco kills,” he said, citing a figure of “over seven million people every year” who die as a result of tobacco use. He added that vapes were “part of a broader strategy by the tobacco industry to profit from addiction, disease and death. The marketing is aggressive, the appeal of their products is strong, and regulation is often weak.”
In February, retailers in Ireland were hit with a new licence fee for selling vapes. Shops wishing to sell vapes are now hit with an annual charge of €800, and a further fee of €1,000 if they sell tobacco. Nicotine pouches are currently excluded from the legislation.
In October, the Irish government announced a major new levy of 50 cents per millilitre (ml) of e-liquid as part of its annual budget. The tax is far above the European average of €0.10 to €0.30, and adds €1.23 to the cost of a typical vape in Ireland.
World Vapers’ Alliance protests consumer exclusion
Following a lightshow on Sunday night that symbolised the silencing of nicotine consumers in policy debates, the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) continued its “Voices Unheard – Consumers Matter!” campaign with a silent protest outside the conference centre.
Demonstrators, their mouths taped, stood in solidarity to represent the ongoing exclusion of nicotine consumers from key tobacco control policy discussions.
Michael Landl, Director of the WVA, said: “It is a symbol of how consumers are silenced in these discussions. We are here, our stories matter, and it’s time policymakers started listening. Instead of banning flavours and safer alternatives, we need policies that protect both youth and adult smokers who want to quit. Silencing consumers is not the answer.”
Concerns over WHO’s stance
The protest highlights concerns over the WHO’s aggressive stance against harm reduction, including recent calls to ban flavoured tobacco and nicotine products.
Alberto Gómez Hernández, Policy and Advocacy Manager for the WVA, added: “Safer nicotine alternatives save lives, but only with sensible, evidence-based regulation. Consumers must be included in the conversation.
“Outdated, dogmatic tobacco control policies, which stubbornly ignore the potential of harm reduction, are holding back public health progress.”
The WVA urges genuine consumer inclusion in policy discussions and calls for an end to marginalising those who stand to benefit most from progressive harm reduction measures ahead of COP11 in Geneva.
