{"id":27139,"date":"2025-10-09T09:18:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=27139"},"modified":"2025-10-09T09:18:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:18:07","slug":"ni-backs-vaping-to-cut-prison-smoking-as-republic-drives-up-vape-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/ni-backs-vaping-to-cut-prison-smoking-as-republic-drives-up-vape-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"NI backs vaping to cut prison smoking as Republic drives up vape costs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Northern Ireland\u2019s justice minister has floated a pilot vaping scheme for prisoners – as the Republic of Ireland doubles vape prices with a new tax from November.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prison smoking exemption under scrutiny<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Almost 20 years after Northern Ireland\u2019s workplace smoking ban came into force, prison officers are still exposed to second-hand smoke, as inmates are permitted to smoke in their cells. The exemption, made under The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, treats prison cells as \u201ca prisoner\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ulster Unionist MLA Jon Burrows has urged the Department of Justice to end the exemption, saying it is \u201cunjustifiable that prison officers in Northern Ireland who already do a difficult and stressful job must also endure second-hand smoke in their workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Ulster Unionist Party has been listening closely to the concerns of our prison officers,\u201d he said, \u201cand we are now demanding that the Department of Justice and the Northern Ireland Prison Service take immediate policy and operational steps to protect the health of those who serve on the front line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burrows said there was \u201cno reason why Northern Ireland should lag behind in protecting our officers from passive smoking,\u201d pointing to the success of smoke-free prisons across the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vaping pilot planned<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Justice Minister Naomi Long, however, says the exemption recognises the \u201cunique operational environment\u201d of prisons, where managing \u201clarge numbers of nicotine dependent people in a secure setting\u201d carries \u201cassociated risks for order and control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she confirmed plans are underway for a \u201cproof-of-concept for the use of e-cigarettes within an area of Magilligan Prison,\u201d set for December 2025. If successful, it could be rolled out across the prison estate as part of a wider smoking cessation strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republic of Ireland doubles down on vaping<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The move stands in sharp contrast to the Republic of Ireland, where the government is taking a hard line on vaping. From November 1, all e-liquids will be taxed<\/a> at 50c per millilitre – a measure expected to double retail prices across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 10ml bottle of e-liquid that once cost between \u20ac3 and \u20ac5 will soon rise to around \u20ac8 to \u20ac10, adding more than \u20ac500 a year to regular users\u2019 costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republic of Ireland Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said the new \u201cE-Liquid Products Tax\u201d would \u201chelp to address the public health concerns created by the rising prevalence of vapes and related products on the Irish market and their increasing usage amongst young people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Ireland\u2019s approach \u201csupports the proper functioning of the internal market\u201d by harmonising tax treatment of \u201cnovel products\u201d such as e-liquids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill also backed the measure, saying: \u201cWe do not know the long-term harms of vaping products and most contain nicotine which is highly addictive. Protecting children and young people from these products is a priority for this Government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside the tax, she confirmed plans to \u201crestrict packaging and appearance, flavours, retail advertising and display for nicotine inhaling products and a ban on all single-use vapes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Northern Ireland\u2019s justice minister has floated a pilot vaping scheme for prisoners – as the Republic of Ireland doubles vape prices with a new tax from November. Prison smoking exemption under scrutiny Almost 20 years after Northern Ireland\u2019s workplace smoking ban came…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990005,"featured_media":27140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[343,186,346],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-27139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ireland","tag-nicotine","tag-northern-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27139"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27147,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27139\/revisions\/27147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27139"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=27139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}