Under-18s facing vape buying ban
Cabinet will sign off on new law by middle of July
CHILDREN under the age of 18 will be banned from buying “vapes” or e-cigarettes before the middle of July under plans going to Cabinet this morning.
Ministers are expected to sign off this morning on new legislation from Health Minister Stephen Donnelly that would see vapes banned for children.
The Bill will also restrict the type of retailers that can sell nicotineinhaling products, as well as banning advertisements for nicotine-inhaling products near schools and on public transport.
Government sources told The Irish Daily Mirror that the advertising crackdown would be done in a bid to “limit children’s exposure to commercial messages normalising or glamorising the purchase and usage of e-cigarettes”.
The sale of vapes to teens is already banned in a number of European countries, as there is “clear evidence that adolescent nicotine exposure can have long-term consequences for brain development,” the source added. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey 2018 and the European Schools Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs 2019 showed that 9 per cent of 12-to-17year-olds and 15.5 per cent of 15 and 16-year-olds used electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days.
There are concerns vaping is a gateway to smoking, with a study by the Health Research Board finding that children who vaped were five times more likely to start smoking.
The legislation banning the sale of vapes to under-18s is expected to come into force before the Dail rises for its summer holidays on July 13.
Elsewhere, Minister for Education Norma Foley will outline the details of a new wellbeing pilot that will provide counselling services to students in primary schools.
Some €5m has been allocated to roll out the pilot programme.