Responsible vape retailers should not be blamed for the actions of rogue operators
RVI (Responsible Vaping Ireland has responded to An Taoiseach’s vape shop remark
Responsible Vaping Ireland has responded to a comment by Taoiseach Micheál Martin who described vapes as the “revenge of Big Tobacco” and said the Government should deal with the products in a “stronger way”.
A spokesperson for RVI said “There are countless legitimate vaping retailers operating across Ireland who comply with the law and are doing their best to ensure that vaping products are sold responsibly. It is deeply disappointing to see the Taoiseach conflate these responsible businesses with rogue operators and those operating outside the law. If there are retailers selling illegal products or flouting age restrictions, the answer is effective enforcement against those operators, not a broad-brush approach that penalises businesses that are complying with the rules.”
“Vaping has played a huge role in getting smokers to quit. Smoking rates remain stubbornly high, with 17% of adults identifying as smokers in the latest Healthy Ireland data, while the Government’s target of reducing smoking prevalence to 5% by 2025 was missed by a considerable margin. Evidence from the UK has continued to demonstrate the effectiveness of vaping as a smoking cessation tool. Countries including Estonia have also had to consider the unintended consequences of overly restrictive approaches, as consumers can turn to illicit markets or return to smoking when legal alternatives are made unnecessarily difficult to access.”
“Vaping is an established, substantially lower-risk alternative to smoking and is helping smokers move away from combustible tobacco. That does not mean it should be unregulated, or that irresponsible practices should be tolerated. It means we need proportionate regulation, robust enforcement against rogue sellers and a Government that recognises the role vaping can play in helping us to achieve a tobacco-free Ireland.”
