Vaping products “should not be in the hands of children” says Donnelly

While government and opposition parties may have major differences on issues such as education, climate, transport and economics, they have one thing in common – they aren’t fans of vaping.

The government introduced a bill in the Dáil prior to the Christmas break, which looks to ban the sale of single-use vapes, and both the government and opposition were in agreement on the need to crack down on vaping.

Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly welcomed that the government were acting to crack down on vapes, but implied the horse had already bolted.

“We only need to open our eyes as we walk around our constituencies and communities to see children and young people openly vaping on their way to school and home from school, and in places where young people hang around. It is deeply worrying,” he said.

The Dublin West TD said, “these products should not be in the hands of children.”

Donnelly acknowledged that there are some benefits to vaping, noting that there is evidence that vapes can reduce cigarette use and can help people quit, but he noted that vaping has become more than a tool to help people quit smoking.

“It is the way they are being marketed, produced, sold and targeted that is of real concern to anybody in the community. I know of people who have never smoked or touched a cigarette in their life and are now vaping to beat the band,” he said.

Donnelly said, “it is just shocking that there is now this method, which is sold and marketed as described earlier, with all the different flavours and colours. It is marketed at people to get them hooked on nicotine, pure and simple.”

The Sinn Féin TD said, “the only purpose of vapes is to get people hooked into nicotine; that is of real concern.”

He noted that legal vaping devices contain chemicals such as formaldehyde, carcinogens, which can lead to lung scarring, heart disease, neurological issues and eventually, addiction to nicotine itself.

“That is in the legal stuff. That is what we know in terms of the legal vapes. The illegal ones are absolutely frightening,” he said.

Donnelly noted the environmental impact of single-use vapes, which is something that the government legislation looks to tackle.

He said that in his time as a volunteer for Clonsilla Tidy Towns and the Royal Canal clean-up, vaping has become a major cause of pollution locally.

“The environmental impacts of what makes up the vapes are quite worrying. They are just thrown on the streets, in our parks, rivers and lakes. All of that is leaking into our environment.”

“Most of society views cigarettes now as something that should be in the past. We cannot let vapes become something of the future,” he added.