The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026 (the Bill) seeks to further regulate nicotine products. The Bill is proposed due to public health concerns about the impact of nicotine use, especially by children and young people. Rates of e-cigarette and of nicotine pouch use are higher among children and young people than among the general population. About 7% of adults vape daily, and most vapers are smokers or ex-smokers. Among children the rates are higher, with 13% of 12-17 year-olds reporting they are current vapers (vaped in the last 30 days) in one study and 16% of 15-16 year-olds in another. About 1% of adults currently use nicotine pouches. The highest rate of use, at 3%, is among the cohort aged from 15 to 24 years. In 2024, a large scale Irish survey found that 4% of 15 to 16-year-olds were currently using nicotine pouches, with 8% having used them at some point.

Sales of nicotine pouches are growing rapidly worldwide. In Ireland, the makers of one product reported an almost five-fold (480%) increase in sales between 2023 and 2024. Though evidence is still developing, the HSE points to the negative health impacts of vaping and using nicotine pouches. There are particular concerns about use by children and young people, especially those who have never smoked cigarettes. The HSE advises that people neither vape nor smoke. However, available evidence indicates that vaping is safer than smoking, albeit that the long-term impacts of vaping are not yet understood. E-cigarettes can be seen as a ‘harm reduction’ tool - a way of supporting smokers to give up a very damaging habit. The interpretation of the evidence in this area, around health risks versus benefits of vaping as a tool for smokers to quit, is debated. Different perspectives on this evidence impacts views of the appropriate type and level of regulation...