The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged Ireland to use its influence at EU level to tighten regulation of nicotine products, warning of “strong industry opposition” from the tobacco lobby.
In a letter dated August 22nd to Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the European Union must urgently address gaps in its rules on vapes and nicotine pouches.
EU-wide laws are “in need of an update”, he wrote, citing the growing popularity of vapes and nicotine pouches among children and young people. He said it was “essential to address regulatory loopholes that threaten tobacco control progress in the European Union member states”.
Tedros said “there remains a persistent difficulty of developing effective national regulations amid strong industry opposition”, with politicians attempting to keep pace with what he described as a “rapidly evolving landscape of tobacco and nicotine products”.
The letter, released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act along with related internal documents, thanked Ireland for its “ongoing leadership” on tobacco regulation. The forthcoming revision of EU rules “represents a critical opportunity for tobacco control” globally, he wrote.
Existing EU tobacco regulations date back to 2014 and introduced measures such as prominent health warnings and graphic images on packaging. At the time, the legislation was the subject of a fierce lobbying campaign by the tobacco industry.
Since then, several major tobacco companies have pivoted towards newer products including vapes and nicotine pouches, which are placed between the lip and gum. Philip Morris bought Swedish Match, maker of the nicotine pouch brand ZYN, in 2022.
Internal Department of Health briefing notes show that a revision of EU rules has been delayed for several years. “This has meant that multiple member states, including Ireland, have had to move ahead with their own measures,” the notes state.
Ireland has introduced legislation to ban disposable vapes and extended restrictions on the sale and marketing of tobacco products to include vapes.
The European Commission is currently evaluating the existing Tobacco Products Directive before bringing forward any changes. Carroll MacNeill had hoped proposals would be published in time for Ireland to steer negotiations during its presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026.
However, the Commission’s proposal is now expected later, meaning negotiations between member states may not begin until 2027.
In response to the Minister, European health commissioner Olivér Várhelyi acknowledged the “growing concern” about increased vape use among young people. He wrote: “There is no doubt about the urgent need to address these challenges .. The commission remains fully committed to tobacco control legislation which ensures comprehensive and effective tobacco control measures.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “If the Commission publishes a proposal for a revision of the Tobacco Products Directive on time, Ireland will be fully committed to progressing negotiations on this proposal during our presidency in the second half of 2026.”
New vape tax delivering less than half of ‘conservative’ projections
Meanwhile, new figures show Ireland’s vape tax is raising less than half the revenue forecast by the Government.
The e-liquid products tax, introduced in November at a rate of €500 per litre, was expected to generate €17 million in its first full year. The Department of Finance described this as a “conservative estimate” and said the projected yield was “purposely set at a lower level to avoid overestimating revenue in the initial stages of implementation of the tax”.
But provisional data covering the first two months shows returns from 60 companies totalled just €1.3 million, Finance Minister Simon Harris confirmed in a parliamentary reply. That compares with €2.83 million per two-month period needed to meet the annual projection.
The Tax Strategy Group had previously said it “has proven difficult” to establish the overall size of the vape market in Ireland, citing a “lack of information”.
Responsible Vaping Ireland, a trade body representing vape retailers, said the use of a “self-declaration system for the vape tax is clearly not robust enough, if returns are at such a shockingly low level”.
It called for tax stamps to improve compliance and a “clampdown on the black market” to “ensure that bad actors who are importing or selling illegal or unregulated vaping products are stopped”.
The Department of Finance stressed that the figures released by Harris are provisional.
