I welcome the Minister of State. She has ten minutes.

I am delighted to introduce the Bill to the House. Its purpose is to reduce the appeal and accessibility of e-cigarettes, vapes and other nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, particularly to our young people. This Bill has passed through Dáil Éireann without amendment. While there was constructive debate on some of the specific details, there is a shared goal with this legislation to do everything we can to reduce the number of young people using these products.

This issue is not new to us after all the debates we have had. We had the single-use vapes legislation, which I spoke on here. I thank Members again for their contributions and support in getting that legislation over the line. It has been commenced and the ban will take effect from 24 January next, so we are nearly there. The National Environmental Health Service will engage with the industry to make sure everyone is aware of the new rules.

Ireland has one of the strongest legal frameworks in the EU for these products. Nicotine is highly addictive and we do not want a new generation becoming dependent on it or moving on to tobacco smoking and, of course, the devastating health harms it can cause. A Health Research Board, HRB, report found that young people who vape are more likely to smoke. Overall, smoking among children has fallen to 5%, but smoking among older teenagers is still very widespread. Our ambition must be to bring that rate to zero.

Tackling tobacco directly remains essential, but we must also ensure that the changing nicotine market does not undermine that progress. This Bill therefore introduces targeted measures to reduce the appeal and visibility of nicotine inhaling products. It will restrict colours and imagery on vapes and on the packaging, ban devices that resemble or function as toys, games or other products, restrict flavours and promotional flavour names, restrict point-of-sale display and ban advertising in retail settings.

During this Bill's passage in the Dáil, there was some debate around the decision to restrict certain flavours. That was the biggest issue I came across when I spoke on this in the Dáil. In developing this Bill, however, we have recognised that most adults who vape previously smoked and that some people use vapes as part of an attempt to quit. However, smoking rates have remained broadly similar since 2019 despite an increase in vaping. There has been an increase in the number of adults who use vapes but who have never smoked, so that is another concern. Research using Healthy Ireland data also found that the link between the use of vapes and the intention to stop smoking had disappeared across all age groups by 2023.

The measures in this Bill are therefore designed to reduce use among young people while ensuring that these products remain available in some form to adults who smoke. The flavours proposed are those that are less likely to appeal to young people and follow the recommendations of the WHO, as well as several other member states that have already regulated in this area.

The review provision and the Minister's power to amend the list of proscribed flavours will allow us to monitor the impact of the legislation and respond where necessary. This legislation is also being introduced alongside significant investment in free, safe and effective stop-smoking support. Funding for the HSE Quit programme increased from €13 million in 2021 to more than €20 million in 2025. We will continue to increase access to evidence-based support for people who want to quit smoking. I have been on to my own Department and have also been looking at a programme for quitting vaping. That also needs to be examined.

The Bill also creates a new category of nicotine consumption products, including nicotine pouches and future products intended for the recreational consumption of nicotine. This futureproofs the legislation so that new products entering the market can fall within the regulatory framework. These products will not be permitted for sale to persons under 18 years of age. As I always say, it is illegal to sell to under-18s. Retail display and advertising will also be prohibited. These will also apply where products are being distributed for free.

During the Dáil debates there were, of course, those who would have liked to see this legislation go further for these products. I broadly supported this but there are issues of timing and the interaction of this law with the EU legislation. We are working with EU legislation, which can take up to six months. This is what is happening with this particular Bill, which has taken just about six months. This Bill has been notified to the EU under the technical standards directive. The standstill period for that notification ends on 7 October so we will have word from the EU on that date. It is my intention to enact the Bill as soon as possible after that.

We have moved ahead of the EU with our original plans for vapes and newly approved baseline measures for other nicotine products that would, by their nature, not fall under this harmonised EU law. However, regulations of these products themselves would be most effective at European Union level. A proposal for a revision of the EU tobacco products and advertising directives is expected towards the end of this year. We are expecting that by the end of the year. That is why it is important. If we got that word by 7 October, we could work on this Bill. The EU is to come back to us hopefully by the end of the year on its own regulations. The European Commission recently published its evaluation report, and it highlighted some key areas that a revised directive should address such as new nicotine and tobacco products and the rise of digital marketing. That is a huge concern for everyone.

The aim with the Bill is, therefore, to move forward with these important restrictions as soon as possible without risking further delays due to EU developments. Ireland is ready to progress broader EU-wide regulations should the proposal be published during our Presidency of the European Union.

I thank the Minister of State for being here today. I welcome the Bill. It is an important public health issue, particularly for our children and young people. It is about ensuring that our legislation keeps pace with a nicotine market that is changing rapidly. For many years, when we talked about nicotine addiction, we were talking about cigarettes. Today it is very different. We have vapes in a wide range of flavours and packaging and we have newer products such as nicotine pouches, which are small, discreet and easily concealed.

I welcome the fact that the Bill takes a future-proofed approach. It creates a category of nicotine consumption products that will encompass nicotine pouches and other recreational nicotine products that may emerge in the future. This is really important because we cannot be in a situation where every time a new nicotine product appears on the market, we have to play catch-up. The Bill will prohibit the sale of nicotine consumption products including pouches to people under 18. It restricts advertising and point-of-sale displays, regulates the appearance and packaging of nicotine inhaling products, restrict flavour descriptions and addresses devices designed to resemble or function as toys, games or other products.

It is important that we look at why these measures are necessary. The concern is not simply that young people are using a new product; it is that we could have a whole new generation dependent on nicotine. The HSE tells us that children and young people are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of nicotine.

It is highly addictive. In a developing brain, it can cause problems with attention, learning, mood and impulse control. The pouches can contain high levels of nicotine. They can increase heart rate and blood pressure and cause sleep problems. They also cause concerns around teeth and gums, mouth ulcers, nausea and nicotine poisoning. Importantly, because these are relatively new products, we do not know their long-term health consequences yet. That is something we need to stop and think about, particularly when we are talking about children and teenagers potentially beginning to use these products at a young age.

There is a question of well-being. Addiction is addiction, regardless of how nicotine is delivered. A young person should not feel they need nicotine to concentrate, relax, socialise or just to get through their day. The HSE's own research has found that experimentation with vaping can begin in children as they enter secondary school. Parents feel overwhelmed by the range of products available and uncertain about what their children may be using. The way some of these products are designed is significant, as has been dealt with in the Bill, with bright colours, sweet flavours and packaging that can resemble sweets and other everyday products. Research suggests that these characteristics can make vaping products particularly attractive to younger people. That is why I welcome the measures in the Bill dealing with the colours, imagery and flavour descriptions.

I want to briefly mention the marketing. There have been concerning media reports in recent weeks about nicotine pouch brands having a presence at major Irish festivals, including Electric Picnic, Forbidden Fruit, All Together Now and Beyond The Pale. At Electric Picnic, for example, there were reportedly games and competitions, branded caps and sunglasses, and free nicotine pouches available to adults following age verification. The companies involved have said that their products are for adults and that age verification procedures were in place. That is fair and well, but it raises a broader question about the normalisation of nicotine. We spent decades removing tobacco advertising and sponsorship from sport and entertainment because we understood the power of associating an addictive product with music, friendship and social occasions. We should be careful that we do not allow that association to be recreated with a new generation of nicotine products. The market is growing rapidly. One leading pouch brand reportedly saw Irish sales increase from 6 million pouches in 2023 to 29 million in 2024.

We should remember what Ireland has already achieved through public health legislation. The workplace smoking ban was a major change when it was introduced in 2004. Today, walking into a smoke-filled pub, restaurant or workplace would be alien to a whole generation of younger Irish people. That legislation protected workers and the public from second-hand smoke but it did something else. It changed what was considered normal and demonstrated that public health measures can change behaviour and attitudes over time. We should bring the same determination to protecting young people from nicotine addiction today.

We need to be balanced in our approach. Many adults who vaped previously smoked. Some people use vaping while trying to move away from cigarettes. Preventing people from starting smoking and helping existing smokers to quit must remain priorities in our public health policy, as smoking continues to have an enormous human cost. Tobacco smoking kills more than 100 people every week in Ireland and causes more than 1,000 hospitalisations. I welcome the fact that regulation is being accompanied by investment in cessation. Funding of the HSE quit programme has increased substantially. For young people the HSE Quit4Youth programme provides specific support to help them stop smoking or vaping. That is important because our response cannot be about telling people what they cannot do. We have to help people who have developed an addiction to get out of it. There will always be another flavour, product or package, so future-proofing our legislation really matters. We need a regulatory framework capable of dealing not only with the products that are on the shelves today but with what will arrive.

Through the smoking ban and other tobacco control measures, we have shown that strong public health policy can make a real difference and we should build on that progress. The objective is very clear: to prevent children and young people who do not smoke from becoming dependent on nicotine in the first place and to continue to support those who want to quit. I really welcome the Bill and thank the Minister of State for all her work.

Cuirim fáilte mhór roimh an mBille seo agus admhaím go bhfuil sé an-úsáideach sa troid i gcoinne an stuif nimhneach seo atá istigh sna "vapes" - an t-ainm a thugtar orthu. My grandfather used to tell me stories of watching poor quality American detective movies during the Second World War. He would tell stories of the private detective lurking in the shadows with his upturned collar and his hat slung down over his eyes, standing in a doorway or on a corner watching a suspect or somebody of doubtful motives. The detective would invariably be smoking a cigarette. As the quarry approached, the detective would take his cigarette from his mouth and toss it nonchalantly on the ground. There might only have been about one quarter of the cigarette smoked and because it was during the war years, a great groan would go up in the cinema to see the profligacy of these Americans throwing away three quarters of a cigarette when they could get none.

The point of my story is such behaviour glamourised cigarette smoking in the movies. We had advertising in the fifties and its growth in the sixties and into the seventies until governments came down heavily on the tobacco companies. All these people who exploit our human weaknesses have a great ability to zero in on those weaknesses and monetise them. That is what is happening to our young people with this vaping industry that has become commonplace in the last 20 years.

The Minister of State spoke of people using vapes who have never smoked in their lives. I have a couple of millennial children. Of course, they tell me they do not use them themselves but they say many of their friends who never smoked in college, or until fairly recently, are now vaping and have become seriously addicted to nicotine. There are insidious effects on their health and their pockets. It is an unseemly waste of time and it looks gauche. Short of picking your nose, I cannot think of anything more gauche than watching somebody go out into the street, sucking on a vape, blowing an aimless puff of whatever it is into the air and deriving satisfaction from that.

I applaud the Government's diligence in pursuing this legislation. It concurs with European legislation. However, I am worried that when you come down heavily on things like this, there is a great tendency for those things to go onto the back streets and the black market. Invariably, what comes into the black market is substandard - if you can have a high standard of vape. These things are powered by batteries and if cheap batteries from countries with low standards of production are married to insidious, harmful, noxious content, there is the possibility of facial injuries, not just to the skin but to the back of the throat, and long-term effects on breathing and pulmonary health. Have we thought about bringing in strict penalties and vigilance among the Garda and other agencies to police the possible explosion, for want of a better word, in the use of black market products in response to the proposed legislation?

Time and again we hear of efforts made by the Minister of Finance and Tánaiste in trying to engender a greater culture of saving among our people. God knows, we knew that. We need only calculate the cost of a packet of cigarettes. I do not know what vapes cost, but if someone is vaping on a daily basis, it makes a nonsense of State efforts to generate saving, because the natural addictive nature of the substance is drawing people into dissipating their money. The old expression is, "A fool and his money are easily parted" and they are making fools of our young people. All of this is just a waste of money, going into criminality in the black market and going into people who are exploiting our younger people. I am delighted to wait back here in such a quiet Chamber to make my feelings known. There is a whole philosophical debate about this and that we should not be nanny stating about things like drink, gambling and vaping and so on. However, there really comes a time when we have to try to look towards the kinder angels of our nature and bring them to help people who are being exploited and impoverished by these products. Once again, I am delighted to be supportive of the proposed legislation and welcome it. I hope that in the fullness of time. the Minister of State may bring in a range of measures that will hit hard at people who are selling back street stuff and black market product as well.

I thank the Minister of State for coming here today and bringing forward this very important legislation. It is good that we are bringing forward the Bill. The Minister of State outlined the scope of the Bill and what she intends to do. I recently met representatives of the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation. They have concerns that in the current wording of the Bill, flavours and graphic colourful packaging are significant factors that draw young people, which the Minister of State mentioned. Is it proposed that flavour and packaging restrictions do not extend to nicotine consumption products under the current wording of the Bill? Maybe she could look at that. The organisations were concerned that the Bill would not go far enough. The flavours and smells are attracting young people. That might be the best way of putting it.

Another thing was raised with me as well that I am not sure whether it is in the Bill. These are the big puffs, which can have up to 25,000 puffs. In the UK I understand they can be up to 50,000 puffs out of one vape. That is not currently illegal in Ireland but it is something that needs to be looked at in the long term. Perhaps now is an opportune time for it to be included. It is good that there are going to be restrictions. It is about discouraging people from vaping because even though we do not have proof regarding vaping, it is believed and I believe myself, that it is not good for you. The number of people smoking has decreased due to the smoking ban but we now see people vaping all over the place. It is good that we are looking at restrictions on vaping going forward. I commend the Minister of State and the Department on bringing this forward. I am looking forward to working with her on it.

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I am probably the only person who will stand up and not necessarily advocate for vaping but I will advocate against the banning of flavours. As everyone knows, I am a former smoker and a current vaper.

I have spoken to many people over the summer. It is funny. When you are on a night out and you leave the pub or you are at a wedding and you go outside to have a vape, because we have spoken about this so much in the House the first thing people say to me is: "Oh my God, please tell me they are not actually going to ban our flavours." These are adults that I am talking about, not children.

Not for one minute do I advocate for children to be vaping. For anybody who has never smoked a day in their life to pick up a vape is very silly because it is an addiction. Nicotine is an addictive substance. I started smoking at the age of 11, back when I knew no better. I wish I could go back in time and not do that. As I have said before, I gave up smoking and took up vaping for cost reasons. It had nothing to do with health reasons. I did not see that side of it because I was a smoker and I enjoyed smoking.

I will give the Minister some statistics that have been shown to me. According to a Red C poll, 33% of ex-smokers said they would return to cigarettes if flavours were banned; 73% said the fruit flavours are key to them staying off cigarettes; 49% would source flavours online and outside of the State if the ban goes ahead; 71% believe that a flavour ban would push vapers back to smoking; and 7% support a full ban on flavoured vapes. I hear that and I put it together with the tax revenue that is brought in on both nicotine and vape products. Nicotine products bring in a tax of €16.2 million per week. According to a Dáil parliamentary answer from last February, vape products will bring in an estimated €17 million a year. There is a huge difference between €16.2 million on tobacco products every week and €17 million a year on vape products. If I were to make an educated guess, I would think that maybe the Government does not mind the fact that a lot of vapers could go back on cigarettes when that kind of revenue is going to come in from tobacco products.

That is the way I am looking at it. You cannot put this under health if you are going to say that people can keep vaping as long as it is just tobacco flavour. There is no difference between strawberry ice or blueberry and tobacco. It is not going to make a difference to your health. If it is going to fall under health, it should be all or nothing. In my lifetime, I can never remember hearing anybody stand up in any of these two Chambers to say that we need to ban cigarettes. That is because they bring massive revenue into this country. The tax on them is huge. I do not see why we need this all of a sudden. If it is to do with children, a law was brought forward last year that vape products cannot be sold to those aged under 18. We need to make sure the law is enforced and make sure the consequences are high enough so that retailers do not serve the under-18s. I feel that, as Senator Conway said, we are going down the route of the nanny state - you can vape, but you can only vape the products that we are telling you that you can vape. You can only use the flavours that we think you should use.

I get it. I can only imagine that the rainbow cloud flavour is probably Skittles and candy floss stuck together. Most adults do not buy rainbow cloud but they will buy a fruit flavour. They will buy strawberry, cola, blueberry or something else because it tastes nicer. I know that sounds awful. If it is just tobacco flavour, many people, including me - I put my hand up - will be back on cigarettes tomorrow. Everybody I met over the summer months has been saying that to me.

I hear Senators and TDs advocating for this on the grounds that so many vape shops are being opened, and they are vibrant, and the colours are drawing children in. Each local authority has a development plan. If it is that much of a problem, why are councillors not going to the local authority to say, for example, that there are ten vape shops open in Newcastle West or Limerick city and we do not need them, or we do not need them to have pink writing all over them, or pictures of sweets and vapes beside each other in the shop? There are rules and plans, and it is for every local authority to enforce those rules. I do not think that is a reason to ban vapes.

I feel that we are going backwards in this country. If these flavours get banned, a huge percentage will go back on cigarettes. I know the Minister of State has stated there is scope in the Bill to reverse this or add flavours.

I am telling the Minister of State that once the flavours are gone and somebody goes back on cigarettes, it will be quite hard to get them back off cigarettes when we say sorry to them, that they can have their strawberry flavour back and that they should go back on the vapes because tobacco is worse for them than is the nicotine. The Minister of State is playing with fire and we need to leave flavours in. If this is all about children going down the wrong route, it is collective punishment and I do not think collective punishment works because vaping will go underground. I can guarantee the Minister of State it will go underground. I have been offered cheaper prices for products which are obviously not being manufactured or sold in the State so I know they are there and the Minister of State will not be able to control them. The Minister of State is going too far with this. I agree 100% that children should not be vaping. If I caught my 16-year-old with a vape in her hand I would probably fall through the floor first and then I would burn every vape that I saw; I would get rid of them. I know it is hard to control. I was the 11-year-old who was down the alley smoking cigarettes; kids do these things. What if the rules are in place and enacted so shops cannot sell vapes? When I was young, I was able to buy cigarettes but as I got older, I was being asked for ID. The consequences need to be severe enough so that vapes are not sold to children and this collective punishment is wrong.

): I thank the Members of the Seanad who spoke today. This debate and engagement on this Bill are important and it is about progressing this Bill as far as we can. I will go back to some of the questions that were asked of me.

Senator Costello asked about nicotine pouches at any event in general. I will not talk about a particular event. This law will ban distribution of free nicotine pouches to children but also it will ban retail advertising of them, both in physical locations and online. The definition of "retail" includes where products are being distributed for free, so that will be banned. To keep the Senator updated, a proposal to update the EU law in advertising and sponsorship of tobacco and nicotine products is expected before the end of the year. The ban on the sale of tobacco pouches to under-18s includes a ban on giving them our for free. They should not be giving them out for free; that is not right either.

The EU tobacco products directive regulates the quality and safety of e-cigarettes devices so the non-compliant products can be seized and destroyed. That is something we are working on and I know the other Senator mentioned that as well.

EU-wide regulations will make this legislation easier to enforce. We spoke about enforcement and that is important. We are increasing resources for enforcement and I am very mindful of that. As we have brought in a licence every year to sell cigarettes and vapes, that helps with enforcement and being able to monitor this.

Senator Maria Byrne mentioned the big puff disposable vapes. This are regulated at EU level so will be a matter for the next EU directive. We spoke about the directives and I hope that will come in as soon as possible but it is at EU level, just to let the Senator know.

That is perfect.

I know it was a big issue for the Senator.

On the issue of restriction of flavours which would push people back into smoking, research from other countries has shown that users respond to flavour restrictions in different ways. From reports we have received, they include switching to permanent flavours or sourcing flavours, that is, e-liquids elsewhere; quitting vaping; quitting all nicotine products, including tobacco; or switching to other nicotine products, including tobacco. The most relevant evidence to Ireland comes from the Netherlands, which found that its ban on all flavours except tobacco led to overall decreases in both vaping and smoking. We are very mindful of it and a lot of funding has gone into the quit smoking campaign we use. We are constantly putting extra funding into that and tobacco free generation measures are really important. Tobacco is a uniquely lethal product when used as intended. It causes almost 100 deaths and 1,000 hospitalisations each week in Ireland. There is no age at which it becomes safe to consume tobacco so we are not encouraging anyone to go back on cigarettes or to vape.

Our national tobacco control policy, Tobacco Free Ireland, is currently being reviewed. It is important to let everyone know that we are reviewing this. One of the central goals will be to set out a pathway to end the tobacco-related harm in Ireland. My officials and I are considering all measures to fulfil this objective, including a generational ban. That is what we are looking at now. It might take a bit of time but we are considering that possibility. The Minister and I are actively developing our own proposals, which are similar to those in the UK.

This is important. We need to make changes. We all know that vapes are more targeted at our younger people. We need to ensure that we get the information out there through the awareness campaign. We were at a festival recently. I asked that the HSE do a vaping awareness campaign about the harmfulness of vaping in the HSE tent at a huge farming event. I might as well say that it was at the ploughing championships. You have to be careful when you mention something in the House. I had the campaign there and it targeted a lot of young people. Over the past year and a half, more than €500,000 has gone into awareness campaigns about the harm of vaping. I will continue to do that. We can only say that it is important to get this Bill through as quickly as we can. This is all about the younger generation and older generations, and all of us working together. We must ensure that we give the proper information about the harmfulness and dangers. I thank Senators for their support. It is important that we get this Bill in.

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Next Tuesday.

Is that agreed? Agreed.