Harris voices fears over vaping despite firm telling TDs it helps smokers quit
A FIRM selling “vaping products” has claimed the Government is failing in its duty to help smokers who want to quit tobacco smoking.
But Health Minister Simon Harris has hit back – saying he plans to ban the sale of vaping products to people under 18. He also said he has doubts about the health risks of vaping and is awaiting a Health Research Board report.
The international firm, Blu, which recently launched a range of vaping products in Ireland, has told legislators that the Government and anti-smoking groups are content to allow smokers continue to smoke, rather than advocate vaping.
A letter to all TDs and senators says “the failure of the Irish State and its public health agencies to fully explore and embrace vaping as being a much safer alternative to smoking has raised very serious questions around public health policy”.
Blu’s mass communication to Irish lawmakers came as it launched a massive outdoor advertising campaign. The letter says that based on current HSE reported trends, the Government’s vision of a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025 will not be met until 2052 and that the Healthy Ireland initiative has reported that 37pc of people who quit smoking here in 2018 used vaping to help.
“The failure of the Irish State and its public health agencies to fully explore and embrace vaping as being a much safer alternative has raised a very serious question,” it says.
“Would the State and its public health agencies prefer smokers to continue smoking rather than advocate the option of vaping, which is broadly internationally accepted to be 95pc safer than smoking?”
But the Health Minister said he was rapidly coming to the belief that “vaping” was merely a diversification by the tobacco companies.
“I intend to bring a draft law to Cabinet next month which aims to ban the sale of vaping products to people under 18,” the minister told the Irish Independent.
Mr Harris said he would consider the issue of vaping as an aid to quitting tobacco smoking. But he wanted a full report on the health issues involved.