Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-22
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Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny

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.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-22