I welcome the Bill but it is too slow in what it proposes to implement. The tobacco industry is very quick at coming up with new and innovative ways of delivering nicotine to individuals, getting them addicted to its products and keeping its bottom line very healthy while everyone else suffers from those products. Rather than waiting years to deal with these issues, we need to be much more proactive. While my colleague has spoken specifically about vapes, I will focus on nicotine pouches, which should be incorporated in the provisions of the Bill. As the Minister of State knows, these small pouches are placed between the gum and inner lip. They are very discreet, which is why a lot of students like them. They can use them during school time and can very easily hide them from their parents. They are being marketed really aggressively at students. They can be bought in any corner shop. They come in cool little packages with very funky designs and, similar to vapes, they are flavoured to appeal to schoolchildren. These products are incredibly strong, with a single pouch having up to 30 mg of nicotine. This compares with a single cigarette delivering 1 mg to 2 mg of nicotine into the smoker's system. One pouch could be as strong as an entire pack of cigarettes. There are students buying them and using them throughout the school day. It is nearly two years exactly since I first raised this issue with the then Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly. He said at the time that pouches were not really an issue here and the matter was being looked at by the EU. Two years down the road, nothing has been done. There are no controls over the usage or sale of nicotine pouches. I am really concerned about the impact on young people in particular. The Minister of State mentioned during the summer that she was very keen to deal with these products. I really welcome that but I ask that it be done at speed. They have been available to students for two years now. We have a whole cohort of students who have become addicted to them over that two-year period. We cannot afford to allow that to continue any longer. I recently had a 17-year-old tell me that they had not taken a nicotine pouch for eight days and they were so pleased with themselves. That is what we are talking about. This is something I have seen in schools in Wicklow, but I know it is an issue across the country. The principals association has repeatedly raised this as an issue. Principals have asked for guidance from the HSE to be sent to schools because they are sort of in a limbo land with this. I do not believe that guidance has been sent, but that is something very simple that should happen immediately to assist school communities deal with this scourge. I also have major concerns about promotions by different companies. It is possible to get vapes for free by logging in online with these companies. They will send out a free sample. They can also be accessed free at concerts. These companies promote concerts. There is a lot of money going into promoting vapes because they know there is a huge market of young people that are willing to utilise their products, but those young people will pay a very high price for this. That is something we need to address urgently. I ask that the Minister deals with the issue in this Bill. It is not just a question of dealing with the age limit, because my understanding is that when she spoke about the Bill, it was primarily to ensure that tobacco pouches cannot be sold to under-18s, but similar to vapes, it is not just the question of age, it is the flavourings, accessibility and the designs on them. They are very attractive products to a young person. I ask that the Minister would examine all those issues. Pouches are very similar to vapes. As we are dealing with the vapes, I urge her to please deal with these other products. Not only that, but will she please future-proof the legislation because, as we can see, the innovations from the tobacco industry are just being pumped out so we need to get ahead of all these things? Perhaps it could be done through a regulatory framework rather than it having to be done through legislation all the time. Any nicotine products should be able to be dealt with quickly by the Minister for Health if she deems it appropriate and if that is what the health recommendations are. I thank the Minister of State for considering that. I will follow it up. I would really like to see movement. In particular, it would be a good move if the Minister could get the guidelines out to schools.

Sentiment score: 0.16