The Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has announced his intention to tighten regulation on vaping – including a ban of disposable vapes and a potential flavour ban. The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) urges policymakers to reconsider the far-reaching consequences this move would have on public health and harm reduction. Such bans contradict successful harm reduction approaches seen in other countries such as Sweden.

Michael Landl, the Director of the WVA, states, “Prohibition doesn’t work. It never has, and it never will. A ban on disposable vapes will not eliminate the demand but shift it from regulated markets to the black market, creating negative, unintended public health consequences.”

The ban on disposable vapes is counterproductive to harm reduction, says World Vapers’ Alliance.

“Disposable vapes can act as a crucial stepping stone for smokers looking to quit,” continued Landl. “They offer an easy entry point, and many consumers eventually transition to open systems. Making that path from smoking to vaping as frictionless as possible is essential for public health. While cigarettes, known to be extremely harmful, remain readily available, banning a 95% less harmful alternative defies logic.”

The WVA believes that vape flavours are widely used by adult vapers to move away from cigarettes, and research shows that their use can increase the odds of quitting by 230%. “Restricting flavours will just drive many vapers to the black market or back to smoking,” it says. “For example, Estonia banned flavours in 2020, but there is evidence that a majority of vapers kept using them, either by making their own liquids or by turning to the black market.”

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