The Irish Ministry Of Health Announces The Results Of A Public Consultation And Plans To Ban Disposable E-cigarettes

The Irish Ministry of Health announces the results of a public consultation and plans to ban disposable e-cigarettes

The results of a public consultation released by the Irish Department of Health show that the public strongly supports stricter e-cigarette regulations, and the Minister of Health plans to legislate to restrict e-cigarette advertising and packaging and ban disposable e-cigarettes.

According to Euractiv on August 31, Stephen Donnelly, Minister of Health of Ireland, announced the results of a public consultation aimed at evaluating the implementation of new and stricter tobacco and e-cigarette regulations.

The "Public Consultation on Further Regulating Tobacco and Nicotine Inhalation Products" was conducted from November last year (2023) to January this year (2024) and aims to collect views on flavoring, packaging and appearance, and point-of-sale advertising of nicotine inhalation products.

Releasing the report, the minister said: "We know that there is strong public support for further action to regulate tobacco and nicotine inhalation products."

"I plan to legislate to regulate the display and advertising of e-cigarettes in shops, the packaging and presentation of the products, and the flavours of e-liquids. I will also ban disposable e-cigarettes, which are harmful to young people and the environment."

He explained that he had already passed the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhalation Products) Act 2023, which includes a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes to people under 18 and the introduction of a new licensing system.

In addition, a Department of Health (DoH) spokesperson told Euractiv that the consultation also discussed the issue of purchasing these products on behalf of others, extending smoke-free restrictions to e-cigarettes, smoking in outdoor dining areas and raising the age of tobacco sales.

At the request of the Minister of Finance, the issue of taxing e-liquids was also included.

The consultation received 15,821 responses, 90% of which were current e-cigarette users. Other feedback came from academia, consumer advocacy groups and companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of nicotine inhalation products and tobacco products.

The survey results show that health agencies, medical staff, teachers and non-e-cigarette users strongly support all possible interventions, emphasizing the importance of protecting children and the uncertainty about the long-term effects of e-cigarettes. All respondents expressed majority support for some regulation of point-of-sale displays and the packaging and appearance of nicotine inhalation products. Although on other measures, e-cigarette users, the tobacco and e-cigarette industries and retailers have different opinions, especially on the issue of flavors.