VAPING LEGISLATION WILL be future-proofed to “keep ahead” of new addictive nicotine products that hit the market, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has said. 

The government passed legislation this week to prohibit the sale of single-use vaping products and set out enforcement measures. 

Sellers will have a six-month lead in time to sell their stock, but after that period new health enforcement officers will be carrying out inspections to ensure no single-use vapes are being sold.

Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor said the legislation this week “is a start”, but a new law, due to be enacted in September or October, will ban certain colours, flavours and packaging of vapes.

“This is all about protecting our young people,” she said, stating that she has been hearing good feedback from schools and parents.

“I’ve been speaking to parents, they’re really welcoming this. One woman said to me that her daughter had said to her recently that she wanted her vape to match the colour of her Debs dress.

“So, this is really positive and is a very important going forward,” she said. 

Carroll MacNeill said the government will future-proof the legislation. 

“We know that the nicotine addiction companies, or tobacco addiction companies, whatever you want to call them, find different and innovative ways to addict children to nicotine. That’s the goal, that’s all they’re trying to do, and find different ways to do that, whether it’s through fancy colours or tastes or smells, whether it’s through those awful pouches, there will always be something new,” she said.

Provisions have been put in the bill that means the minister of the day can simply ban a new nicotine product by statutory instrument.

“So we can keep up and get ahead of the companies who profit from getting children addicted to nicotine in various innovative ways,” she said