Speaking at the World Conference on Tobacco Control, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin urged governments worldwide to adopt “the strongest possible measures against vaping,” warning that e-cigarette manufacturers are replicating the “predatory playbook” of the traditional tobacco industry—particularly by targeting youth.
“All the same issues we had to deal with in respect of cigarettes, we have to deal with vaping,” said Martin. “We’re catching up a bit later in Ireland with that.”
Ireland’s new restrictions on flavorings, product placement, and packaging design are scheduled to be enforced in February 2026, based on legislation introduced by the previous government. Youth vaping is accelerating across Europe—10.8% of adolescents aged 13–15 now use some form of tobacco, including e-cigarettes.
The rise in youth vaping spurred the European Commission to update its Recommendation on Smoke-Free Environments to explicitly include vapes and heated tobacco products, urging member states to ban vaping wherever smoking is prohibited, and is now further considering flavor bans, restrictions on online sales, and heavier taxation.