Acting Chairperson (Senator Shane Cassells): I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, to the House. 

Senator Maria Byrne: I move: That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that:

• the restriction on smoking tobacco in the workplace ‘for the purposes of reducing the risk to and protecting the health of persons’ was brought into force in 2004 under the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004;
• the effect of this ban has been that people are not allowed to smoke in office blocks, aircraft, trains, company vehicles, health premises, schools, colleges, cinemas, theatres, licensed premises and clubs, when these places are a place of work;
• the ban also applies to common areas within buildings, such as corridors, lobby areas and reception areas of buildings, such as apartment blocks and hotels;
• the Protection of Children’s Health (Tobacco Smoke in Mechanically Propelled Vehicles) Act 2014 brought about a prohibition of smoking tobacco in a car with children under the age of 18 as a means to further ensure a reduction in risk to health of children;
• the definition of vaping according to the HSE’s website is: ‘Electronic cigarettes (“e-cigarettes”) use batteries to heat up nicotine, water and propylene glycol or glycerine with flavourings. This creates a vapour that lets you inhale nicotine without smoking or using tobacco. This is known as “vaping”’. Based on this explanation, ‘vaping’ is the use of an electronic cigarette;
• the Tobacco Products Directive was transposed into Irish law by the European Union (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco and Related Products) Regulations 2016. The Regulations rely on the definition of ‘electronic cigarette’ in the Directive: ‘“electronic cigarette” means a product that can be used for consumption of nicotine-containing vapour via a mouthpiece, or any component of that product, including a cartridge, a tank and the device without cartridge or tank. Electronic cigarettes can be disposable or refillable by means of a refill container and a tank, or rechargeable with single use cartridges’;
• the EU are in the process of introducing legislation on vaping throughout European Member States; 

notes that:

• tobacco products are heavily regulated at EU level in the form of tobacco control measures concerning packaging, labelling, advertising, taxation, which aim to discourage their consumption. E-cigarettes and vaping products are not regulated in the same way;
• the European Commission announced in 2021 in its ‘Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan’, that it would propose to update the 2009 Recommendation in 2023 to extend its coverage to emerging products, such as e-cigarettes, and to explicitly include certain outdoor spaces such as schools, playgrounds and outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants in its scope;
• it is the owner, manager or person in charge of the workplace who is responsible for ensuring that the ban on smoking in the workplace is complied with, they can do so with the statutory support of the legislative ban, but as no such statutory support exists in regard to a prohibition on vaping due to the absence of policy in this regard, it is the employer who is obliged to ensure a safe place of work;
• Ireland was the first country to introduce a ban on smoking in certain places in order to advance public health;
• the HSE Public Health gives very clear advice that cautions against vaping and clearly demonstrates a concern regarding the health risks of vaping as follows:
• they urge those who do not smoke, not to start vaping noting that most vaping liquids contain nicotine, and that nicotine is a dangerous and addictive chemical;
• they clearly state that there are risks and negative health effects linked with vaping, that include:

- nicotine dependence,

- injuries - for example, from defective e-cigarette batteries,

- poisoning and exposure to toxins,

- changes to how the heart, lungs and other organs normally work;

• the HSE recommend for that those who wish to stop smoking:

- get support from a stop smoking advisor, GP or pharmacist,

- use licensed stop smoking medicines as the safest and most effective way to stop smoking;

- they do not recommend vaping as a way to stop smoking and cite the following reasons:

- safer options have been proven to work,

• they urge the use of licensed medicines to stop smoking, noting that treatments such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), available in pharmacies, and prescription treatments from your GP and which have been tested over many years work and are safe;
• the HSE have reviewed studies of vaping as a stop smoking support and when they compare vaping with the options they recommend, they are not confident that vaping is a safe or effective way to stop smoking;
• the HSE clearly states that:

- e-cigarettes are not stop smoking medicines,

- e-cigarettes are not licensed medicines,

• licensed stop smoking medicines go through quality and safety checks before they can be sold. There are some regulations for e-cigarettes and vaping liquids as consumer products but the system for licensed medicines is much stricter;
• with this in mind and given the potential risks to health and the rising cultural acceptance of vaping for those trying to quit smoking and those who have never smoked, 

calls for:

• the concerns of the HSE to be elevated to a policy and statutory footing to demonstrate the concerns and health risks;
• the treatment of vaping in an analogous manner to that of smoking with the immediate introduction of legislation that bans vaping in the following places:
• indoors at the workplace,
• in public spaces and communal places,
• in cars carrying children,
• the development of public policy and legislation that regulates the sale of vaping products and e-cigarettes in a manner similar to that of tobacco products to include warning displays on any packaging;
• Ireland to clearly signal and advocate strongly for an acceleration of the regulation of e-cigarettes and vaping products in the EU;
• the Government to promote an awareness campaign in print and social media on the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes which reflects the concerns expressed by the HSE;
• the penalties for non-adherence to the legislation be introduced and enforced. 

I will share time with Senator Conway - eight minutes each. I thank the Minister of State for coming to discuss this all-important issue. We had the smoking ban back in 2004 and we have had various different amendments to the Act through the years. Certainly, vaping is of concern to many constituents and me. That is why this motion has been presented. In Europe, they are looking at making amendments in relation to vaping. In addition, the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, has ideas around vaping and is looking at something, or at least I saw in the paper that he is. The three key areas of concern where we want vaping to be banned are indoors, in public places and in cars where children are present. These are the areas that need to be looked at seriously… 

[Click here for the full debate on the Oireachtas website]