According to the Irish news website NewsTalk, Ireland’s Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has submitted legislation to Parliament to ban teenagers under the age of 18 from purchasing e-cigarettes. Its minister of state, Hildeguarde Naughton, also said: “I have committed to further legislation in this area.”
However, Ireland’s consultation is not limited to one-offs, as it has regulations and supervision in many areas of vaping. The solicitation will last until January 5, 2024, which also means that there will be new measures to adjust the Irish vaping market by then.
Reducing the appeal of vaping to young people is a mainstream direction in the regulation of vaping in many European countries.
This time Ireland specifically includes the solicitation of the following points.
for example:
1. In terms of display, the display of nicotine inhalation products in stores is restricted; retailers including retailers selling these products will also be subject to the licensing system, and vending machines will no longer provide electronic atomization.
2. Flavoring supervision, mentioning the supervision of flavors in nicotine inhalation products;
3. Restrictions on outdoor dining areas and extending smoke-free restrictions to vaping;
4. Increase the sales age of tobacco products, which will be set at 18 years and above;
5. Raising the price of electronic atomization will involve tax issues.
However, Ireland’s measures were criticized by smokers’ rights group “Forest”, saying there was a risk of “hasty” measures being enacted. Forest spokesman John Mallon said: “We urge the government not to give in to the moral panic over vaping and regulate low-risk products in a lax way that undermines their effectiveness as a safer alternative to cigarettes. sex.”
Ireland, across the sea from the United Kingdom, has a small population base of more than 5 million people, but the frequency of e-atomization use there is very high. And at least 30% of local young people are using e-cigarettes. Data shows that 1.3 million of them are discarded every week in the local Irish town, which shows that the usage is not low. Among the more than 800,000 local smokers, more than 200,000 are e-atomizer users.
When it comes to e-cigarette taxes, Ireland has also announced a new tax on e-cigarette products next year. As can be seen, the local government is strengthening the supervision of electronic vaping and adjusting the tax system.
It is obvious that in 2024, European electronic atomization, especially the Western European market, will inevitably have new measures, and major companies should understand and master them in advance. As for the European market, some people said that Europe has strong consumption power, but uncertainties about e-cigarettes still exist, and they must be prepared at any time.
