Ireland’s Environment Minister: Plans To Implement Ban On Disposable E-cigarettes By The End Of The Year

Ireland's Environment Minister: Plans to implement ban on disposable e-cigarettes by the end of the year

Ireland is working to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes, with the environment minister planning to introduce laws to stop sales, amid concerns about youth addiction and environmental pollution. Other countries have banned it, and the EU supports the ban.

According to a report by TheSun on May 19, a ban on disposable e-cigarettes and other products may be implemented by the end of this year. Ireland's Environment Minister Ossian Smyth said he is seeking permission to push for a law to completely stop the sale of these e-cigarette products, which are already banned from people under 18 years of age.

He said: "I have discussed this issue with the Health Secretary Stephen Donnelly and my department is working with his department to prepare documents to enable a comprehensive ban on single-use e-cigarettes. I expect that we will introduce this to the Minister of Health this summer. The EU submits a hard bill and I will get permission to implement the ban before the end of the year."

Earlier, Minister Donnelly said that the government had considered a total ban on e-cigarettes, "but clinical advice on whether e-cigarettes are as harmful as tobacco has not yet been released." However, he went on to accuse the tobacco industry of "backing down again" and downplaying e-cigarettes. The dangers of cigarettes are similar to what tobacco companies have done in the past.

He added: "We are exploring evidence of harm caused by vaping, including damage to the lungs."

Minister Smythe said there were concerns about the health effects of e-cigarettes and the environmental impact of e-cigarettes being discarded. At the same time, government plans do not include reusable e-cigarettes.

Minister Smythe explained: "We are not proposing a complete ban on rechargeable e-cigarettes, and we have no plans to classify them as prescription goods. The bottom line is that health issues and environmental issues are closely related, so my two All departments must work together."

Given that Australia has banned disposable e-cigarettes at the beginning of this year, Belgium has decided to ban them from January next year, and the UK also plans to ban such products from April next year, Minister Smyth said that the EU is already giving assurances that here Banning them does not violate its rules.