I too know people who have spoken about going back to cigarette smoking after the last budget. This will be a bit of a trend. I am a vape user and a former smoker. Like most people, I used vaping as a way to get off cigarettes. That is probably more reflective of my age and generation than it would be for any of our younger people. I support the ban on single use vapes contained in the Bill. They are environmentally destructive and wasteful but also have no place in a serious public health framework. However, while I support the intent of the Bill, I also strongly criticise the Government for the approach it has taken overall to vaping and nicotine pouches. The most glaring contradiction in this is the recent budget decision to, in effect, make reusable vaping more expensive than single use vapes. Disposable vapes can now be bought for about €8 and a bottle of vape liquid costs about €11, sometimes a little bit more. The measure in the Bill is entirely counter-productive. If we are serious about discouraging wasteful throwaway products while supporting people in moving away from smoking cigarettes, public policy should not push consumers in the opposite direction. Right now, it is cheaper to buy a product that the Government says it wants to eliminate. That simply makes no sense to me. The Bill is another example of the Government's piecemeal approach to this issue. It is the third time we have had legislation on vaping or smoking in as many years and, most likely, there will be more. Meanwhile, the industry continues to innovate, adapt and work around regulations faster than the State responds. We are always playing catch-up on this issue. We need modern, comprehensive and dynamic legislation that deals with vaping as a whole, not just one narrow issue at a time. I again refer to those nicotine pouches. I want to be clear that protecting children has to be a priority. The targeting of young people through bright colours on almost toy-like packaging is blatant and unacceptable. Sales to minors are still happening but enforcement is weak and illegal products in breach of EU standards are widely available. I will always fully support any measure that meaningfully tackles those practices. However, we have to get the balance right. Vaping should not be as expensive as smoking for somebody who is trying to quite cigarettes, nor should it be more attractive to non-smokers to take up. There is a middle ground. I am open to tighter regulation on flavouring and packaging, particularly where it is clearly designed to appeal to children, but restricting all vapes to tobacco flavour alone is excessive. It is also counter-intuitive because it drives people back to the object they are trying to get away from, namely, the flavour of cigarettes and drives them into unregulated markets. Public health policy must reflect reality - no nicotine. The ideal outcome is that people neither smoke nor vape but until we reach that point, we must ensure that adults who are quitting smoking are not punished financially for making that choice. Banning single-use vapes is absolutely a step forward but without coherent taxation, proper enforcement and comprehensive regulation, it risks being undermined before it has even taken effect. I urge the Minister of State and the Government to move beyond short-term fixes and deliver a joined-up strategy that protects children, ensures smokers can quit and finally gets ahead of this industry, which has been running rings around regulation for far too long.

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