More than 100 retailers found non-compliant with laws on sale of vapes
vapes
to children over the past 18 months, according to new
Health Service Executive
(HSE) figures.
It has been illegal since December 22nd, 2023, to sell nicotine-inhaling products such as e-cigarettes – more commonly known as vapes – to children under the age of 18.
Under the law, a person can be fined up to €4,000, as well as facing up to six months imprisonment.
The HSE's National Environmental Health Service monitors compliance with the legislation through an annual test-purchase inspection programme.
READ MORE
Last year, the service conducted 389 test purchase inspections. Of those, some 52 were found to be non-compliant – where one of these products was sold to a child.
In the first six months of this year, 310 inspections were carried out, of which 50 were found to be non-compliant.
Of the 52 non-compliant inspections found in 2024, 19 proceedings have been heard to date in the
District Court
.
Twelve of those cases resulted in a conviction with a fine, the number of cases in which the probation Act was applied was six and one case was struck out, withdrawn or dismissed by the court.
The HSE said other proceedings were 'still in train', while proceedings relating to non-compliances identified this year are expected to be heard in 2026.
The figures were released to
Social Democrats
TD Aidan Farrelly, who said: 'We need to make sure the enforcement works.
'You can see the level of inspections in the first half of this year is almost at the same level as all of last year. But what I'm looking at is the number of non-compliances versus prosecutions.
'The numbers [of prosecutions] are very low. I understand the court system could have much more pressing issues, but a law is only as strong as its enforceability. We have to make sure retailers are complying.'
Mark Murphy, senior policy manager at the
Irish Heart Foundation
, said it was 'absolutely imperative' the ban on the sale of vapes to children is enforced.
'Vapes are not harm-free and evidence shows that e-cigarettes can damage the brain, heart, lungs and even blood vessels. Moreover, e-cigarettes contain nicotine, one of the most addictive substances on the planet,' he said.
'And medical research shows that the younger you are when you start using nicotine, the more likely you are to become addicted.'
Ireland intends to increase the legal age of sale of cigarettes from 18 to 21 in 2028, but Mr Murphy has called for this to be extended to e-cigarettes to 'protect children from ever taking up vaping'.
Last year, the Government approved plans to ban the manufacture or import of single-use or disposable vapes in Ireland and to limit vape flavours, coloured packaging and descriptions, as well as the level of advertising of such products.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Sunday World
Husband of woman who killed their child slams lack of support from health authorities
Darren Coleman woke one morning in October 2020 to discover his wife and their infant son had died. Darren Coleman husband of Nicola Keane talks to the media after his case against the HSE was settled. Photo Collins Courts The husband of a woman who died after killing their child has hit out at the lack of empathy and support in the healthcare system. The body of Darren Coleman's wife Nicola Byrne - a 34-year-old paediatric nurse from Ballina, Co Mayo - was found off the M50 Westlink bridge in the early hours of October 22, 2020. When he was woken a short time later by gardaí who called to the couple's home at Shackleton Way, Lucan, Co Dublin, he discovered their seven-month-old son, Henry, in an unresponsive state in a spare bedroom. The baby boy was pronounced dead shortly after being brought to Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin. Darren Coleman. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin An inquest subsequently found that the tragic deaths if the concerns of medical staff about her mental health had been shared with her husband Just a month after his wife Nicola had died by suicide, he received a phone call from someone at the Crumlin hospital informing him that the toxicology report for his late son Henry was complete. Mr Coleman was then asked what should happen to the organs of his seven-month old infant son. 'They said I could incinerate them or I could bury Henry with them, which would mean digging his body back up again,' Mr Coleman has revealed in an interview with the Irish Times. "And they asked me to let them know early next week. That was it. I went back into the class and went on with work. 'I rang back next week, because I wasn't going to dig up his body. Nicola Keane and her husband Darren Coleman. Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin. News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, August 5th 'Maybe they didn't know I was back at work but these are personal things they're talking about. It should've been a letter asking me to come in to discuss, or they could've called the Garda liaison and she could've called over and told me." Mr Coleman went on to say that he felt 'no empathy or care' had been shown to him by the health authorities. He also stated that his late wife had been 'crying out for help' but did not receive the support that she required. In 2023, Mr Coleman told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court that he had endured a three-year wait as 'the only member of my family alive to speak' to voice his concerns about the care his wife had received for post-natal depression and the lack of information he was given by her doctors about her condition. Evidence was heard that Ms Keane told doctors that she was concerned that she might 'do something' because of her son's irritability and her fears they were not bonding, although she repeatedly denied any intention of suicide or harming her son. Medical records showed Ms Keane had told a psychologist at the hospital that she had damaged her son who was 'botched' but nobody would believe her and nothing could be done. Mr Coleman believed he should have been informed that his wife's medication had been increased twice around a month before her death as well as about any possible side-effects and that doctors had noted that she had 'delusional beliefs and depressive episodes.' 'To read about this after their deaths has hurt me so much that I will never recover from it,' said Mr Coleman at the hearing two years ago. The inquest's jury went on to return a majority 6-1 verdict of medical misadventure in relation to Ms Keane's death. Mr Coleman sued Children's Health Ireland (CHI) and the HSE over the circumstances leading to his wife and son's death but the legal action was settled in 2024.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Investigation under way after body found in Cork house
Gardaí have started an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 58-year-old man whose body was found in a rented house in Cork on Tuesday afternoon. The man's body was found by Gardaí in a house at Lower Barrack View near the North Cathedral around 4pm after they were contacted by a man in the area. It is understood the man had gone down the cul-de-sac behind the cathedral and, looking in a window of the terraced house, saw what he believed was a body in a room. Gardaí subsequently gained access to the house before immediately cordoning off the scene and requesting the services of Garda scenes-of-crime examiners, who preserved the scene. READ MORE Gardaí also requested the services of the State Pathologist's Office. The man's body is due to removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem on Wednesday. Officers began door-to-door inquiries and have established that the man – who was renting the property – had not been seen by his neighbours for a number of days. Garda sources said there was no sign of forced entry to the property but they were keeping an open mind as to the cause of the man's death pending the postmortem. They say they are hopeful the postmortem will establish what happened to the deceased man and give an approximate time of death.
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘He had a wonderful knowledge': tributes paid to Irish Rail worker found dead in his home
Tributes have been paid to Irish Rail worker Ian Walsh (49) who was found dead after being stabbed in his home in Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary , over the weekend. Mr Walsh worked as a signal man at Kent Station in Cork, having previously worked in catering with Irish Rail on its Waterford service and as an instructor at the Irish Rail Training School at Inchicore. On Tuesday the company paid tribute to Mr Walsh, who was well known among staff and train enthusiasts for his work in helping to record Ireland's rail heritage, particularly in the south and southeast. 'All of us in Iarnród Éireann are shocked and saddened at Ian's passing. Ian was a well-known and popular colleague across the company, both in his working life in roles from catering to signalling, and for his passion for railway and transport tourism and heritage,' it said. READ MORE 'Our thoughts are with his family, and his friends in the railway and beyond, at this difficult time.' Rail heritage group Táilte Tours also paid tribute to Mr Walsh, saying he had been a huge supporter of the group and of Ireland's rich railway heritage for many years. 'Ian ran five rail tours of his own over the course of the mid to late 2000s and was very much a pioneer in 'outside the box' tours in Ireland, starting them from locations such as Waterford and Limerick, in an era when tours were generally based in Dublin or Belfast,' it said. 'He was more than happy to pass his experience and expertise on when we started operations a few years ago; for those of you who enjoyed the 'surprise' rare track moves on our Cork-based railtours, you can thank Ian, who went far beyond the extra mile to ensure our operations went off without a hitch. 'He had a wonderful knowledge of the Iarnród Éireann system and its people, and had also developed a passion for Bus Éireann operations, diligently recording the last runs on several rural routes in the southeast as they disappeared, quickly becoming a friend to bus drivers in the Cork and Waterford areas.' Meanwhile, the Garda investigation into Mr Walsh's death is ongoing with Garda technical experts continuing to examine his two-storey house in Ravenswood where gardaí found him unresponsive in a downstairs room at about 3.30am on Monday. Gardaí say their investigation will be informed by the results of a postmortem that is due to be carried out by State pathologist Dr Yvonne McCartney at University Hospital Waterford. An incident room has been set up at Clonmel Garda station. Gardaí believe Mr Walsh was fatally assaulted sometime over the bank holiday weekend and have appealed to anyone who was in the Cregg Road area of Carrick-on-Suir between 8pm on Friday, August 1st, and 3.30am on Monday, August 4th, to contact them. Additionally, anyone who may have camera footage, including from dashcams, and was travelling in the area at the time has been urged to make it available at Clonmel Garda station on (052) 617 7640, via the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or at any other station.
