TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said the Government would consider a ban on vaping in cars where children are passengers.

The UK Government is currently considering a ban on vaping in cars carrying children, as well as in playgrounds and outside schools.

If the ban goes ahead in the UK, enforcement would “mirror existing smoke-free laws” and there would be a minimum of six months between the regulations being made and coming into force.

Speaking to reporters in Cork today, Martin was asked if the Irish Government would consider a similar ban here.

“I’ve a very low tolerance threshold for vapes, to put it mildly,” said Martin.

He added that he believes vapes “represent the revenge of big tobacco”.

While vapes are sometimes pointed to as a means to help people to quit smoking, research published last year showed that vapes do not appear to be acting as a support for quitting or trying to quit smoking.

Martin was Health Minister when Ireland banned smoking indoors in 2004 and he today told reporters: “We took on cigarettes, made significant inroads, de-normalised cigarette smoking from young people, and vapes have come back,” said Martin.

He said that what “worries” him about vapes is that “they came onto the market without any proper health assessment in terms of the impact on young people’s health and on people’s health more generally”.

“There’s lots of research now globally saying they’re very bad and they’re not good for people and they can damage your health, and we are very concerned about it,” said Martin.

He noted that other legislation is coming into force in Ireland on vapes.

“We keep it under constant review in terms of what further measures we can take to deal with it.”

A Bill to ban the sale of single-use vapes is currently making its way through the Oireachtas.

Last November, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries should regulate vapes “at least as strongly as they regulate conventional tobacco products”.

“Let’s be clear, the companies that make these products are not motivated by harm reduction or public health,” said the WHO chief.

“They’re motivated by one thing and one thing only, gigantic profits for their shareholders.”