Disposable vapes set to be banned in Ireland under new law

Vivienne Clarke

The sale of disposable vapes will be banned in Ireland under measures being brought to the Cabinet by the Minister for Health.

The Government is expected to approve measures to ban the sale, manufacture or import of single-use or disposable vapes in the country.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly also wants to place restrictions on colours and imagery on packages and the devices themselves to ensure they are not aimed at younger people.

Disposal of the devices has been a problem in recent years and there are public health concerns that failure to properly recycle the vapes, which include batteries, could be resulting in the release of toxic compounds into the environment.

There is also concern that the products sold in Ireland contain the maximum permitted level of nicotine, and are therefore not an effective means of quitting cigarette smoking.

A ban on the sale of vaping products and e-cigarettes to people aged under 18 came into effect in Ireland last year.

The Minister of State for Public Health, Colm Burke, said the proposed new measures would introduce “serious restrictions” on the sale of vapes but it would be a “step by step” process.

Mr Burke told Newstalk radio that there needed to be a change to the way in which nicotine inhaling products were sold.

He said the proposed law will also include regulations about packaging and point of sale display. The disposal of vaping products will also be covered in the measures.

Mr Burke added that he understood specific regulations would be brought in about flavoured vaping products. “It’s about making it less attractive,” he said.

The main drive behind the regulations was that many people who used vaping products subsequently moved on to smoking, he said.

Ireland was one of a number of countries in Europe introducing such regulations, he said. It was a response to the increasing number of people using nicotine inhaling products.

It was important to come up with a response as Ireland had done when it introduced the smoking ban, he added.