VBI welcomes Government commitment to prevent youth access to vaping products

Vape Business Ireland (VBI), Ireland’s largest vaping trade association, welcomes the Irish Government’s commitment to commence Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill which will finally bring forward legal provisions to prohibit the sale of vaping products to those who are under 18. This is legislation that VBI has been urging the Government to introduce since 2015, citing the move as the most effective measure to prevent access for your young people alongside the ongoing youth access prevention work by industry and retailers. VBI believes this can be quickly implemented, while avoiding the risk of pushing people back to cigarettes.

It is the view of VBI that vaping has a significant role to play in achieving the State’s objective of a Tobacco Free Ireland by 2025. International research published in October 2020 by Cochrane showed vaping products are 70 per cent more effective in helping smokers quit than nicotine replacement therapy. A 2017 report on the results of the public consultation on the draft health technology assessment (HTA) of smoking cessation interventions, analysis by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) also found that vaping products play an important role in moving people away from smoking, an activity that the public health authorities advise kills 6,000 people in Ireland every year.