The Northern Ireland Assembly voted to include it in the UK’s new tobacco and vape legislation. After 2009, people born were banned from buying tobacco products, and the ban was extended to vapes. Lawmakers fear it could lead to the closure of underground markets and vape shops.
Northern Ireland to extend smoking ban to vapes
On 10 February, members of the Northern Ireland Assembly voted to include Northern Ireland in the UK’s new tobacco and vape legislation. However, some questioned whether the legislation could be implemented in Northern Ireland under the Windsor framework. The new bill follows legislation introduced by the Conservative government before the election.
MPs fear new tobacco law triggers black market trade
Under the proposal, people born after January 1, 2009, would be banned from buying tobacco products. The bill also includes a provision allowing the future introduction of a retail licensing system to replace the current registration system. At the same time, existing rules on tobacco advertising, sponsorship, and brand sharing will be extended to tobacco paper, herbal smoking products, vape brands, and other tobacco tar products. The legislation also allows for the enactment of laws and regulations to extend smoke-free regulations in public outdoor places to vapes and heated cigarette products.
In terms of vapes and other tobacco nicotine products, the bill prohibits vending machines and other means of selling such products to minors, while prohibiting their advertising and sponsorship, and prohibiting free distribution. The Tobacco Retailers Register will be extended to include retailers of vapes and other nicotine products.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said last year’s vote had supported Northern Ireland joining the Tobacco and vape Bill, but it failed to happen because of the dissolution of Parliament.
Gerry Carroll, a member of the People First Party, opposed the bill, calling it a “dangerous step away from public health” and comparing it to prohibition in the United States in the 1920s, fearing the bill could push tobacco into the underground market.
Alan Robinson MP for DUP said he was concerned the legislation could be incompatible with the Windsor framework after the UK leaves the EU and could lead to a string of vape shops going out of business. He noted that it’s not a bad thing for adult smokers to try to quit using vapes and that the law could backfire by depriving them of legal vape offerings.
