I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to be here today to introduce the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill to the House. The purpose of the Bill is to reduce the appeal and accessibility of e-cigarettes, vapes and other nicotine products such as pouches to young people. This Bill and the single-use vapes Bill together with the 2023 Act mean that we will have one of the strongest regulatory frameworks in the EU on these products. According to the current evidence e-cigarettes may be less harmful than tobacco smoking but this does not mean that they are harmless. Our priority with this Bill is to protect the health of our young people and non-smokers by reducing the likelihood that they will take up or continue to use products like vapes. The primary health risk for our children is that the use of nicotine may become an addiction which could lead to tobacco smoking with the absolutely devastating health harms that can cause. While we may all have heard stories or even known someone who had no difficulties with quitting cigarettes, the evidence tells us that around 90% of people who smoke are addicted to nicotine and find it very difficult to overcome that addiction. This is not the future that we want for our young people or for those who do not already smoke. The evidence confirms the risk to young people with a report from our Health Research Board finding that adolescents who vape are more likely to subsequently smoke. While it is a very important achievement that smoking rates among children have reduced to 5% from frighteningly higher levels in the past, we all agree that our aim should be to bring this down to 0%. Tackling tobacco head on is necessary to ensure that we reach our smoking-free goal for adults and children. However, regulating nicotine products is also important to ensure that these products do not contribute to an increase in smoking prevalence among our young people. There are many concerns about the continues. Since July 2014 the World Health Organization has recommended that the sale of e-cigarettes to minors should be banned as there is evidence that nicotine may have long-term consequences for brain development. The figures on the use of vapes by our young people are mixed in the trends they are showing. Our 2022 health behaviour in school-aged children study found that 90% of the 12- to 17-year-old children have used an e-cigarette at least once. This is a decrease from 22% on 2018. In the same survey 13% reported that they had used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, which is an increase from 9% in 2018. This data shows that the gap between ever using and use in the past 30 days has narrowed, suggesting that more children may be converting from experimentation to regular use. The 2024 European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs of 15- to 16-year-olds found that 16% were current vape users which is a decrease from 18% in 2019. Some 32% were found to have tried vapes in 2024 which is down from 39% in 2019. Daily use of vapes in 2024 was recorded at 7% which is up from 5% in 2019. While this shows an encouraging reduction in experimentation and current use, it is the increase in daily use which this Bill is designed to address. The European school survey also found that 3% were currently using nicotine pouches. Although this figure is low, it is important that we act now to prevent its increase. To make nicotine-inhaling products less attractive to our young people, the Bill will restrict the colours and imagery on packaging and on the devices themselves. The Bill will ban the sale of devices resembling or functioning as other products such as toys or games. This is to ensure that the Irish market does not see the evolution of these products into multi-use devices with features that would specifically attract young people. It will also restrict the flavours for sale and will prohibit all flavour descriptors and language other than basic flavour names. This is to eliminate the marketing potential of the use of child-friendly flavour names. The point-of-sale display and advertising of these products in everyday supermarkets and convenience stores will also be prohibited so that our children are not exposed to these products in their everyday life. It will also make it clear that these products are not the same as ordinary grocery goods. The European schools survey project found that nearly 4% of our 15- to 16- year-olds used nicotine pouches in the last 30 days. Evidence is not yet available on the possible effects of these products, therefore the only harm that is known is that these products contain nicotine. The Bill creates a new category of products called nicotine consumption products. This category includes pouches and any other product for the recreational consumption of nicotine, other than tobacco, nicotine inhaling products and medical products. By creating this new category, the Bill is future-proofed and any new products for the recreational consumption of nicotine will automatically fall under its provisions. Current and future nicotine consumption products will be prohibited for sale to persons under the age of 18. In addition, the display of these products at the point of sale in our general stores will be prohibited and advertising of these products in-store will be banned in all retail outlets. Regulation of the way that current and future nicotine consumption products are sold in our country can be done effectively in national law. The regulation of the products themselves would, of course, be most effective if it was introduced at EU level. A revision of the EU tobacco products directive which is the relevant EU law is long overdue. EU-wide measures on current and future nicotine-inhaling products and nicotine-consumption products would ensure that the measures in each country are supported because the ability to purchase from another member state with different product specifications would no longer exist. An evaluation report from the European Commission on the directive was recently published. The next step is the publication of a proposal for a revised directive. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and I have repeatedly called for that proposal to be published as soon as possible. I repeat that today. I am asking the European Commission to publish its plan for a revised directive as soon as possible. I also join the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in promising that Ireland will do all that it can to progress the directive, if the proposal is received during Ireland’s Presidency of the EU. That is really important for us. This Bill was developed in recognition that most adults who use vapes formerly smoked and that some people who wish to quit smoking have used vapes as part of that attempt to quit. Unfortunately, the benefits of this approach are not showing in our population. Our smoking rates have remained at the same level since 2019 despite increases in our vaping levels. From this data, it does not appear that vaping is substituting for smoking in our population. In addition, one out of six adults who use e-cigarettes has never smoked. Research on our Healthy Ireland survey data also shows us that in 2015 the dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes was linked to a high intention to quit and attempts to quit smoking but that by 2023 this link had disappeared in all age groups. The measures in this Bill are designed to reduce our young people's use of these products while ensuring that they remain available for use by adults who smoke. The review section in the Bill and the powers for the Minister for Health to alter the list of prescribed flavours means that we can monitor the effects of the legislation and respond quickly if needed. This legislation is also proposed at the same time as significant investment in free, safe and effective stop-smoking support. Funding for the HSE quit programme has almost doubled since 2021, to over €20 million in 2025. This includes the roll-out of free stop-smoking medicines to anyone accessing the HSE quit service, with €2.9 million provided in 2025. The HSE has also recruited 48 new stop-smoking advisers and more than doubled the number of clinics in the country since 2022. This combination of medicine and behavioural support is recognised as the most effective way to quit smoking, and we will continue to look at ways to increase access to this life-saving support. We are also reviewing our national tobacco control policy to determine the best pathway to a truly tobacco-free Ireland. Before I take the House through the sections of the Bill, I would like to take this opportunity to remind us all of Ireland's obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Under Article 5.3 of that convention, Ireland is required to protect its public health policy from the commercial or other vested interests of the tobacco industry. I will now take the House through the Bill to outline the content of each section. Part 1 deals with preliminary and general issues and contains sections 1 to 5. Section 1 is a standard provision for the Title, citation and commencement of the Bill. Section 2 defines terms including other Acts that are referred to in the Bill. Section 3 is a standard section that provides for the expenses incurred in the operation of the Bill. Section 4 provides for the repeal of certain sections of the Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Act 2024, which have been replaced in this Bill. Section 5 provides for a review of the operation of the provision of this Bill. Part 2 of the Bill contains sections 6 to 12 and relates to the amendment of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002. Section 6 amends section 2 of the 2002 Act and sets out the definitions relevant to this Part. Section 7 amends section 5 of the 2002 Act on penalties to include the new offences created by this Bill. Section 8 amends section 48 of the 2002 Act to include powers in relation to nicotine consumption products into the existing powers of authorised officers of the national environmental health service. It also provides powers to ascertain details of the supply chain, market information and website ownership in order to align with the existing powers for tobacco and related products under the EU market surveillance regulations. Section 9 amends section 50 of the 2002 Act to include nicotine consumption products in the protocols for the taking of samples by authorised officers. Section 10 amends section 54 of the 2002 Act to allow the national environmental health service, the enforcement body under the Bill, to use compliance notices in relation to offences involving nicotine consumption products. Section 11 amends section 55 of the 2002 Act to allow the national environmental health service to issue prohibition notices in relation to offences involving nicotine consumption products. Section 12 provides the national environmental health service with powers to act on tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products that are compliant with tobacco control law but are deemed to present a serious risk to health. It includes powers to seize and destroy products as well as remove online content in order to eliminate serious risk. This measure is provided for under the EU tobacco products directive. Section 13 amends section 56 of the 2002 Act to include the power to issue fixed payment notices for offences in the Bill. Part 3, on amendments to the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023, includes sections 14 to 27. Section 14 provides for the definitions in this Part. Section 15 updates the EU law references in relation to the exclusion of medical devices from this tobacco control law. Section 16 adds nicotine consumption products to the existing standard provision to locate the jurisdiction of an offence. Section 17 inserts a new section 26A into the 2023 Act to prohibit the point-of-sale display of nicotine inhaling products. A retailer can provide a pictorial price list of the products for sale to a customer and display a sign indicating that the products are for sale to persons over 18, which would be the main thing. The prohibition does not apply to shops that sell nicotine inhaling products only or additionally sell only the following: nicotine consumption products, vapes, vaping substances, or accessories related to the functioning or maintenance of nicotine inhaling products or vapes. Section 18 makes it an offence to sell nicotine consumption products to a child. Section 19 amends the definition of advertising in the 2023 Act to provide for the new advertising restrictions in this Bill. Section 20 prohibits the advertising of nicotine inhaling products and nicotine consumption products in retail premises or on a website that sells these products. Section 21 inserts new Parts 3A and 3B into the 2023 Act. Part 3A regulates the appearance of a nicotine inhaling product, including that it must be of a prescribed colour and shall not contain any imagery such as cartoons or graphics. It also provides that a nicotine inhaling product cannot function as a toy or any other product. Similar measures apply to a refill container for a nicotine inhaling product. Part 3A also regulates the packaging of a nicotine inhaling product, including that it must be of a prescribed colour and not contain any imagery such as cartoons or graphics. Any outside covering of packaging and inner lining are also regulated under this Part. On flavours, a nicotine inhaling product cannot be sold with a flavour name other than those in the Schedule, which are "unflavoured" and "tobacco" flavour. Those are the two. The Minister for Health may add or remove flavour names to the Schedule, taking into account the impact of the measure and having regard to the objectives of reducing harm from tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products and prioritising the protection of health of our children. In addition, a nicotine inhaling product with a variant name that implies that it has a particular sensory characteristic or a flavour other than that described in the flavour name cannot be sold. Part 3B prohibits the point-of-sale display of nicotine consumption products. A retailer can provide a pictorial price list to the customer and display a sign saying that the products are for sale to persons over 18. The prohibition does not apply to shops that sell nicotine consumption products only or sell nicotine consumption products and-or additionally sell only nicotine inhaling products, vapes, vaping substances, or accessories related to the functioning or maintenance of nicotine inhaling products or vapes. Section 22 includes nicotine consumption products in the existing test purchasing provisions. Section 23 includes offences in relation to nicotine consumption products in information that may be published by the national environmental health service. Section 24 includes offences in this Bill in the section related to penalties. Section 25 includes nicotine consumption products in provisions in the 2023 Act regarding evidence in court proceedings. Section 26 amends section 39 of the 2023 Act to deem certain offences in this Bill as "category A" offences, which attract a longer duration of licence suspension and can lead to licence revocation. Section 27 inserts the Schedule on flavour names into the 2023 Act. Part 4 relates to miscellaneous amendments and contains sections 28 and 29 of the Bill. Section 28 amends the Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Act 2024. It is an additional amendment required along with that made at section 22 of this Bill to facilitate the test purchasing of nicotine consumption products. Section 29 amends the EU (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco and Related Products) Regulations 2016 to align the provisions in relation to the prohibition notice in that legislation with those in this Bill. I commend this Bill to the House.

Sentiment score: 0.05

I thank everyone who spoke today in the Chamber. We can see the passion on this and the urgency of the Bill. A lot of issues were raised. I only have ten minutes. The issue of flavours was the big thing. As for why we are banning all flavours except tobacco, this is what is most likely to reduce the appeal to our younger people. Today is about children and young people. In balancing this protection of young people with the help for adults who smoke, which came up today, we have found that vaping is not being substituted for smoking at a population level in adults. Dual use of tobacco and e-cigarettes is no longer associated with an intention to quit smoking among adults and one in six adults who vape have never smoked. They have never smoked. There is no evidence that e-cigarette flavours increase the likelihood of quitting tobacco. If I do not get through a lot of the questions, I will definitely come back with an answer for, or meet with, Deputies. I know they are saying we are forgetting about people who are smoking but we are continually increasing investment in State support to stop smoking, which includes free stop smoking medicine, such as nicotine replacement therapy, NRT, for anyone who wants to use them, more than doubling the number of clinics and expanding the We Can Quit peer-led programme. The HSE has now also recruited 48 new stop smoking advisers. We are trying to be very proactive in what we do. Another big issue that came up was pouches. Under the Bill, retailers cannot sell pouches to anyone under 18. The pouches will also be behind the shutters which can be pulled down, which is what we want to do. We want to make sure the vapes cannot be seen. The pouches will be part of that. Toothpicks were brought up by a colleague along with snuffs. Anything with nicotine is included in this Bill. That is part of a really good initiative for anything new. We all know it is changing all of the time. From toothpicks to snuffs to pouches, it is constantly changing. In this Bill, that is what we are doing. Anything to do with nicotine is in this Bill. I cannot highlight this enough to anyone. If people are selling to anyone under 18, they are breaking the law. They cannot sell vapes to anyone under 18. I cannot say this enough. It is so important not to be selling them. I want to compliment the team accompanying me who have worked so hard. I know from speaking to schools and parents I have been talking to myself, this is a priority for them. They see this with kids in schools where they see them vaping. One TD brought up a story about someone who was going to a debs and they wanted to get a vape to match their dress. This has to stop. We have to make sure we are protecting our children and the future for them. I know other countries were talked about but the most relevant evidence for Ireland comes from the Netherlands. I was in the Netherlands recently and it put a ban on all flavours, except tobacco, which led to an overall decrease in both the vaping and the smoking and, seemingly, it is working really well. The other initiative I want to talk about is the resources. Enforcement of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products legislation was highlighted as a priority. In 2026, as part of the HSE's national service plan, 30 additional whole-time equivalents have been allocated to the national environmental health service recruitment of these posts. They are expected in mid-2026. Enforcement came up a lot in the debate. It is important that we are able to enforce this as best we can within our health and well-being unit. We represent the health and well-being side. I am sure all Deputies are aware of the new licence fee coming out. This new licence fee will launch in the first weekend in August, I think. Anyone selling cigarettes or vapes will pay a licence fee. That means the HSE will have a list of who has licences, who does not and it will be easier for us to monitor this as well. That is another issue we really need to address. Another issue that was raised was the vaping prevention campaign. An allocation of €300,000 was provided in budget 2025 to develop and run a youth vaping prevention media campaign, which was really successful. We spoke to all of the different groups. We made sure we went to schools. We spoke to parents. We had loads of media coverage on it, which was important in making sure we were able to get that information out there. This year, another €200,000 was allocated to this budget. The campaign provides evidence-based messaging to young people and information and supports to parents and guardians concerned about vaping. The first phase was in 2025 and the second phase of the campaign is aimed at children and young people. It was launched in March and it was great. I launched it. For this campaign, we had influencers and content creators at the launch to reach young people through social media. We felt this time it was really important. We needed to target our young people and for us to do that, we used the influencers. That was a really positive move. Social media is a part of our young people's lives now. Social media is out there and we know that. That is why we worked really hard on that. As part of the campaign, a letter was sent to schools encouraging teachers and parents to learn more about vaping and to download the resources from the HSE. Since then, over 8,000 leaflets have been sent out. We also made leaflets explaining what we were doing about vaping and nicotine. That was really positive. It is hoped that this campaign will also contribute to the continued decline in tobacco use among our young people, given the association between vaping and subsequent smoking in adolescents. I believe every Member wants this Bill to go through as quickly as possible. This Bill is about our young people but it is about when you are on a main street, for example, and you go into a shop, you see all of those colours, flavours and packaging, we are saying we are here to support you and work with you. Flavours are a concern but the unflavoured ones, other than tobacco, have worked in the Netherlands and it has legislated for this. It has really been successful. Ireland is really leading the way in this, too. We work extremely hard with our EU counterparts, which is important. That is an issue we are addressing for the European Presidency and to have a workshop or work with them on legislation to see what we can do. I do not know if that will happen. The Minister has also been very positive on this. Ireland is leading the way on this. I know we need to do more. I know there will be amendments. I have listened to the concerns about looking at other flavours. This is about our young people and we feel tobacco and non-flavoured is the way to go. This is about saying, "Do not vape", and asking people not to vape. Vaping has been targeted so much at our young people and it has been a huge concern. I wrote down everyone's questions. I will get back to Members but if they want to email myself or the Department with any particular questions they have, we would be more than willing to answer them. I thank all of the Deputies. I am hoping to get this Bill through as soon as possible. We work with the EU and provisions are going through the EU as well so we are waiting on that. On disposable vapes, we are waiting for word on that in June. With this particular Bill, it should only take three months so we are hoping to have that back to us by July. The urgency of this Bill is today's. We want to get this Bill through the House as soon as possible. I believe everybody here wants the same and that this Bill is needed. I cannot say this enough; all of us working together will get the Bill through as soon as possible. This is about our young people and their future.

Sentiment score: 0.13