Ireland To Ban Tobacco Vending Machines From September Next Year

Ireland to ban tobacco vending machines from September next year

The Irish Minister of Health approved a ban on vending machines selling tobacco, fearing that the rate of smoking among young people would increase; a ban on tobacco and nicotine inhalation products would be implemented from 2023, and smoking machines would be abolished ahead of schedule to curb underage smoking.

According to the Independent on May 30, Irish Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly has approved a ban aimed at banning existing tobacco vending machines on the grounds that these vending machines are prone to violations of tobacco control regulations.

According to the regulations, the ban will have a one-year transition period to allow operators who rely on vending machines for their livelihood to find alternative sources of income, and the ban will take effect in September next year. It is reported that there are more than 4,000 vending machines selling tobacco and e-cigarettes across the country. The proposed goal is to curb another source of demand for tobacco and e-cigarettes among young people, and serious concerns have been expressed about the rising rates of smoking and e-cigarette use.

The ban will be implemented under the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhalation Products) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the self-service sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes. The crackdown comes weeks after cabinet approval was given to raise the legal age for young people to buy tobacco products.

Donnelly said: "On World No Tobacco Day, we are continuing to denormalise the sale of tobacco products. At the same time, we are also banning the sale of inhaled nicotine products through self-service methods to further restrict the availability and advertising of these products."

The ban will come into effect in September next year, giving all affected businesses time to prepare. Under existing regulations, vending machines cannot accept cash and can only be operated by coins or cards issued by staff, who are obliged to ensure that they do not give coins to minors.

However, environmental health inspectors responsible for enforcing tobacco control regulations found that "self-service cigarette vending machines are more accessible to minors than counter sales." In recent years, the number of young people using e-cigarettes in Ireland has been rising, and there are concerns that this may become a gateway to traditional smoking.

In 2019, one in five 16-year-olds were using e-cigarettes, double the number in 2015, and the proportion is now even higher. Figures from 2018 show that one in ten young people aged 12 to 17 have used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. In the decade following the 2004 smoking ban, smoking rates fell from 27% to 18%. But the decline in smoking rates in Ireland has stalled, and a decade ago there was optimism that Ireland would become smoke-free by 2025. The goal was to reduce tobacco use to less than 5% of the population by then.