The Irish government is considering a ban on both cigarettes and vaping products for future generations. It’s somewhat similar to the UK’s generational tobacco-sales ban that comes into effect next year. However, the crucial difference here is that a potential ban on “nicotine inhaling products” is also on the table.
State broadcaster RTE sent a reporter to Phibsborough, a north Dublin neighbourhood close to the city centre, to ask locals what they thought about these proposals. It’s a socially and economically diverse place, with a reputation for being relatively left-leaning. However, liberalism was in short supply when it came to banning these products.
Voice after voice on the Phibsborough street agreed with the ban. Some of the reasoning made little sense. For example, one man argued that it was “very easy” for kids to get vapes in the current market. However, these products are already illegal for under-18s, so it's not clear how a second ban would fix a porous market.
Other people supported the ban when it came to smoking, arguing that we know how corrosive they are. Some speculated that “we don’t know” how harmful vaping is, with another suggesting that vaping was the “lesser of two evils.”
It took what I believe was a Brazilian man to cut through the nanny state nonsense to state that banning these products for anyone 17 or under made sense, but that once they are old enough, they “should decide for themselves, not the government”. Another non-Dub, this time from somewhere in the north of the country, argued that the healthcare costs of smoking could justify a generational ban, but says that when it comes to vaping, “it’s people’s choice what they do with their lives”.
Is a vape generational ban likely?
Currently, this generational ban is just being discussed. There is no bill yet, but the Department of Health is reviewing the Tobacco Free Ireland strategy and says it is considering all measures to end tobacco-related harm. Tobacco Free Ireland launched in 2013, aiming to reduce smoking to 5% or below. Current prevalence is around 17%.
Today, Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne proposed a bill that would prohibit sales of tobacco or nicotine products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. While Byrne is a backbench TD, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is a harsh critic of nicotine pouches. Last year, she called for them to be “eradicated,” suggesting she’d support such extreme measures.
The worrying part for me is that there is public support for these measures. If the RTE vox pop tells us anything, it’s that people are happy to jettison personal freedom for the nanny state. If the government does call a consultation on the matter, they could get the support they need from a lot of people who are totally unaffected by vapes or pouches, but love to tell people what to do.
What can vapers and pouch users do to help?
A lot of us looked on powerless as the UK generational smoking ban was passed. While there was a consultation, the government essentially ignored the voices of advocates and users who highlighted the plan's illiberal nature, its ineffectiveness in solving the issue of smoking, and the fact that the real winners would be black market criminals. However, in Ireland’s case, the stakes are a lot higher.
Banning vapes and pouches for adults because they were born after a certain date is ridiculous. As the Brazilian man in the vox pop points out, it’s not really anyone’s place to do that. The only way to get to a smokefree Ireland is by educating citizens about relative risks and giving them access to regulated, compliant, and effective products at reasonable prices. It’s going to be a long road.
