EDITORIAL: Vape shops popping up in Tipperary faster than Italian chippers

Vaping has become a rampant habit among Ireland’s teenagers and it is being marketed like it is chewing gum.

The shops that sell these products are also popping up faster than Italian chippers.

You can even buy a vape that has a specific amount of puffs before it expires.

So for someone new to it you can just “try it” with a disposable vape.

We should be very concerned about the reach and budget behind these vape products.

The marketing of these products has all the hallmarks of Big Tobacco.

It’s terrifying how accessible vapes are without any real knowledge or information as to the effects on people’s bodies.

At the end of the day, associations that advocate for vaping products, cannot deny that a substance is going into people’s lungs.

We should at least know at this stage, that that isn’t good for our bodies, or at the very least, there is the possibility of a health risk.

The vape shops are bright and colourful and their products are being sold and promoted like they’re candy.

Proposed legislation is looking to prohibit the sale of vapes and tobacco- and nicotine-inhaling products to persons under the age of 18 and is currently in pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill.

The proposed legislation will also make it illegal for under-18s to sell such products.

The Irish Vape Vendors Association (IVVA) has argued that flavoured nicotine products should not be restricted in new legislation.

The Irish Heart Foundation has said that teen smoking rates are increasing for the first time in ten years due to an “explosion” of vaping among this age cohort.

The IVVA says the association between vaping flavours and subsequent smoking initiation is not substantiated.

Nevertheless, it’s worth asking, does your son or daughter vape?