Measures to ban flavoured e-cigarettes welcomed by National Heart Foundation

The Irish Heart Foundation has welcomed measures aimed at preventing young people using e-cigarettes - including plans to ban flavoured vapes.

The charity lobbied extensively to have four sweeping recommendations included in a pre-legislative scrutiny report for an upcoming Bill.

One of the key suggestions in the report is a prohibition on the flavouring of all vapes, except tobacco.

“Vape manufacturers clearly use flavours – and research has identified thousands of them – that they know will attract minors,” said Mark Murphy, advocacy officer with the Irish Heart Foundation.

“Many products are sold in bright, attractive packaging with cartoon characters designed to entice young people. In research we carried out, 3rd and 4th-year students were shown different e-cigarette products.

“When asked for their thoughts, none believed the claim by e-cigarette companies that their design was for adults only and believed, instead, that they were highly likely to appeal to children more than adults.”

The Oireachtas health committee’s report for the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill, published at the weekend, also tackles this issue – suggesting a restriction on brightly coloured packaging and the introduction of plain packaging.

It also suggests measures to prohibit e-cigarette advertising and promotion across all social media, online and on billboards.

In addition, the committee recommends that Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, conducts a review and assembles research on international studies that have focused on increasing the age of tobacco and nicotine-inhaling product purchase from 18 years of age to 21.

“We recognise that some long-term adult smokers use e-cigarettes to quit or reduce smoking, however, the Irish Heart Foundation is concerned over the rise of youth vaping,” said Mr Murphy.

“We can point to evidence showing that e-cigarettes are not harm free; they damage health, inflict short-term harm and act as a gateway to cigarette tobacco smoking.

“Smoking causes  thousands of deaths every year in Ireland. We are not prepared to let another generation of young people become addicted to tobacco.”

Recent HSE research showed that 71% of the Irish public supports Tobacco 21 – the move to ban tobacco sales to those aged under-21.