Irish Health Minister Proposes Vape Flavor Ban

Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly proposed bans on non-tobacco vape flavors and advertising in non-specialized shops, reports The Irish Times. He tabled the suggestions as Ireland’s cabinet approved restrictions on disposable vapes on Sept. 9.

Donnelly said the proposals are aimed at protecting children, who he believed were “very cynically” targeting children. The proposed legislation, he said, would see just one flavor, tobacco, being sold.

“We live in a country where around 13 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 17 have vaped in the last 30 days,” said Taoiseach Simon Harris, who described vaping as “the revenge of the tobacco industry.”

Minister of State for Public Health Colm Burke said the regulations are necessary because “many people who used vaping products subsequently moved on to smoking.”