Results 1-20 of 1,082,148 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Máiría Cahill OR speaker:Denis Naughten OR speaker:Emer Higgins OR speaker:Patricia Ryan OR speaker:Peter Fitzpatrick OR speaker:Brian Leddin OR speaker:Alan Kelly OR speaker:Joe Flaherty OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Thomas Byrne OR speaker:Aindrias Moynihan OR speaker:Ossian Smyth OR speaker:Pearse Doherty OR speaker:Jennifer Carroll MacNeill OR speaker:Seán Crowe) in 'Committee meetings'

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: We have received no apologies. The meeting is being convened to consider the Committee Stage of the Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024. The primary objective of the Bill is to increase the minimum age of sale of tobacco products to 21. The Bill also provides that current penalties for anyone convicted of selling tobacco products to people under the age of 18 will be extended to...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not have an opening statement prepared. I thank the committee for facilitating today. I was keen for us to accelerate this legislation on the off-chance that the election is not in March of next year. It has the potential to save an awful lot of lives over many, many years. I thank colleagues for facilitating the session today.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: I will get straight into it. Two amendments have been ruled out of order and this has been communicated to the Deputy.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: Amendments Nos. 1 and 3 in the name of Deputy Cullinane have been ruled out of order as they are in conflict with the principle of the Bill.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: Does anyone else wish to come in on this?

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputy Cullinane. I agree with the broad thrust of what the amendments do, which is in part to say, let us continue with the targeted research and also to explore other ways we can reduce harm. One of the specific ways the Deputy has looked at is the reduction of nicotine content or "denicotinisation", which is a new word to me.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree with the thrust of what Deputy Cullinane is trying to achieve. I am not going to accept the amendments, not because I do not agree with what he is saying, but because we can go broader than this. I got a briefing from the Department in response to the Deputy's amendments. There are two points to make. One is we are doing the research all the time. The research is ongoing, be it...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: On 10 September, I brought a memorandum to the Cabinet on the proposed vaping legislation. I now have Government approval to draft the Bill. A comprehensive heads of Bill document is in place. My officials, including the two officials with me today, have put a lot of work into that. It was more complex than I originally envisaged. When we are restricting packaging and colouring, there is...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: No. It is the opposite.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The official advice from the HSE for smokers is not to take up vaping but to use nicotine replacement therapy, NRT. As the Deputy is aware, we have made those products free. The initial indications are positive in terms of the impact that is having. What the Minister, Deputy Chambers, did by way of taxation is consistent with our public health position, which is not to move people from...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The HSE view, and, obviously, it knows what it is talking about from a clinical perspective, is that the way to help people give up smoking is through smoking cessation programmes, NRT, etc. Speaking personally, I know people who have moved from cigarettes to vapes. I believe them when they say that if vapes did not exist, they would be smoking. In the UK, there is a focus on vaping as an...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The HSE's position is not based around smoking versus vaping; it is about smoking versus not smoking through NRT.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: No, I heard and understand the Deputy's point. The public health view is not to encourage people to move from smoking to vaping.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: That is its view.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I hear what the Deputy is saying. However, the public health position is to encourage smokers to move to not smoking by using NRT. The advice from the officials is that this is the approach, rather than vaping being an interim tool.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: I ask that we confine discussion to the amendment that is before us.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: Does the Minister want to respond to Deputy Cullinane now or should I bring in another speaker?

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not mind.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I think the point-----

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, it is different. The advice I have is that the UK and New Zealand have vaping as part of their smoking cessation policy, but that no other country does. The WHO is taking an increasingly hard line on vaping. My understanding is that is for two reasons: the first of which chimes with Deputy Hourigan's point that it is still highly addictive. The second is that the evidence is still...