Retailers to be hit with €2,000 annual licence to sell vapes

Tough new restrictions for retailers who sell vapes are likely to come into effect later this year, with shops having to pay potentially up to €2,000 per annum to be able to sell them, writes Brian Mahon.

It comes as Finance Minister Michael McGrath confirmed yesterday that a new tax on vapes would come into effect at the next budget.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne show, he said: “I announced in the budget last October that I was minded to introduce the tax on electronic cigarettes.

“And work on that has been undertaken since then by my own department working with the Revenue Commissioners.

“We have to ensure there’s full policy alignment with what the Department of Health is doing.”

He said he was of “no doubt” that there was a deliberate policy by vape companies to target young people.

“It’s definitely targeting young people,” he said.

Asked if the tax would seek to put them financially out of reach of people, the minister said: “We are consulting with the Department of Health as well because we acknowledge that for some people using e-cigarettes is a way of getting off cigarettes, and cigarettes are far more damaging to public health.

“But there are many unknowns about the long term effects of e-cigarettes generally.”

There is concern in Government that every corner shop is now selling disposable vapes, with record stores and even butchers now also selling them behind the counter.

The Department of Health has already banned the sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s.

However, senior Government sources also pointed out that there were elements in the existing e-cigarette legislation that had yet to be enacted.

At present companies such as Spar can buy one licence and this then allows all their shops to be able to sell them.

There are plans to ensure that each shop will have to pay a licence, potentially costing up to €2,000 a year to be able to sell vapes.

There are also plans to stop shops such as Spar and Circle K from being able to advertise the vapes behind the tills, with retailers having to treat them the same as cigarettes and put them behind a blank wall.

The Department of Health is also considering plans to stop corner shops from being able to sell flavoured vapes and to only allow these shops to be able to sell tobacco-flavoured vapes.

Another potential option is to only allow specialist shops to be able to sell flavoured vapes.

While Australia has banned the commercial sale of vapes wholesale, with vapes only being available through a GP prescription via a pharmacy, it is understood that this is not considered feasible due to Ireland’s membership of the EU.

There is also a general reluctance to pursue such a draconian policy in Ireland, even if it was legally feasible.

A consultation on the matter closed last month, with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly set to bring proposals to the Government later this year.

Fine Gael Senator Tim Lombard has said that there needs to be an educational programme to highlight the dangers of e-cigarettes.

“Research carried out by the Irish Heart Foundation tells us that teenagers who use vapes are three to five times more likely to start smoking compared to those who never used vapes.”