I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. We can all agree that the hallmark, and the calling card, of big tobacco and big tobacco companies is their deep pockets and their seemingly endless supply of marketing budgets. It is for that reason that I distrust a significant amount of what is termed as "evidence" that has been emailed to me this week in relation to vaping and vaping products, with people who are in the pocket of big tobacco telling me how harmless they are. When someone is telling me that over and over again, that makes me pause. That said, we could all say the same thing about alcohol but we have agreed as a State that 18 years old is where the cut off is and after that point, you make your own decisions. There has to be an element of us being sensible about this. I say that as a former very committed smoker. I can say with my hand on my heart that I enjoyed every single one of them. It was torture to give up smoking but I am glad that I did every single day. It will be 20 years next January. I am glad that I did but that does not take away from the fact that I absolutely enjoyed every single one. When I had access to them as a young child - I should not have had access to them - they were single cigarettes that I could buy with a packet of matches. That is probably evidence of how old I am. Anything that acts an entry for children into that world of smoking, nicotine and tobacco consumption needs to be closed off. I can safely say that as a 12- and 13-year-old had I not been able to buy a single cigarette in the shop for 8 pence or 10 pence, then I definitely would not have been in a position to smoke. When we say that these products are not for over 18s, we need be very clear about the damage that these products can do. That said, there are many people in my own family and community who tell me that being able to use the vape was a significant element in them being able to give up smoking. That cannot be ignored. That does not mean that we say the vapes are the be all and end all. I agree that we need to regulate where they are used. I do not like someone blowing vape smoke into my face. I do not know what is in it. If they want to take it, that is fine but I do not like it. We need to have a bit more regulation around it. When we are on a train, bus or plane, etc., it is very obvious as there are signs up. However, in some areas there is a bit of a grey area. We need to make sure that is regulated for the benefit of everybody. In the run in to this debate, I was contacted by many parents. It is really hard to fathom this. Their big worry is that their children will start with vapes because of easy accessibility. The intention is to do reduce that. The concern is that they will move from vapes into cigarette smoking. When I see adults with a vape, I know they are not going back to traditional cigarettes. They are trying to put a bit of distance between them and traditional cigarettes but idea that children will start vaping and then move on to smoking cigarettes is a big concern for parents. They want to make sure their children are protected from these harmful intoxicants, because that is what they are, but that there is work done to ensure they do not regress to being cigarette smokers.

Sentiment score: 0.16