Harsh lesson for vapers in Ireland

Vapers in Ireland learned a harsh lesson yesterday.

Despite admitting that vaping is less harmful than smoking and more popular than gum and other NRT products as a quit smoking tool, the Irish Cancer Society and Irish Heart Foundation yesterday called for the age of sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes to be raised to 21.

In addition (More restrictions needed on sale of vapes and e-cigarettes, Oireachtas committee told):

Both organisations said they wanted the new Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill to include more restrictions on vape products.

Proposed measures include 'a ban on all e-cigarette flavours bar tobacco, a ban on all vaping advertising and the introduction of plain packaging'.

I watched yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on Health, which is currently taking oral evidence from invited witnesses as it considers the new Bill, and even I was amazed by some of the statements made by representatives of those two organisations.

In a couple of weeks the vaping industry – represented by Vape Business Ireland and the Irish Vape Vendors Association – will have a chance to respond but so far (to the best of my knowledge) no invitations to give evidence have been received by consumer groups.

Forest Ireland has already offered to put forward a representative and if I represented a vaping consumer group in Ireland I would likewise be knocking on the Committee's doors as hard as I could.

UK politicians may be more liberal towards e-cigarettes than their counterparts in Ireland but don't be fooled.

The long-term goal of the tobacco control industry is no different in the UK than elsewhere – first, the eradication of smoking, then the eradication of other forms of nicotine 'addiction'.

The difference is that in countries like Ireland they seem to want to achieve both at the same time.

Even if the ICS and IHF fail in their bid for further regulations to restrict and repress the use of e-cigarettes (as well as tobacco), we know how persistent such groups are.

In short, the tobacco control industry is not and never will be a genuine friend of the vaper.

Despite that vaping advocates think nothing of turning their backs on adults who enjoy smoking and don't want to quit, regardless of the issue and how it might affect vapers further down the line.

For example I've not heard a squeak from vaping organisations about attempts to ban smoking in outdoor public spaces (apart from the occasional murmur of encouragement).

Nor have I heard a word from them opposing an increase in the age of sale of tobacco to 21 when such a policy is clearly a stepping stone to similar restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes.

I'm tempted to say 'on your head be it' but I'm more generous than that and will continue to support an adult's right to vape as much as I support an adult's right to smoke.

I just wish that support was reciprocated.

Update: A vaper/vaping advocate in Ireland is claiming - with some justification - that not one of the anti-vaping claims made by the IHF (and reported here) is factually correct.

It’s odd though that when bodies like the IHF misrepresent or exaggerate some of the health risks of smoking (passive smoking in particular), few if any vaping advocates are prepared to call them out.

It’s the hypocrisy that annoys me.

Or perhaps they genuinely believe all the anti-smoking propaganda and convince themselves that the same tobacco control campaigners they castigate for promoting factual inaccuracies about vaping are, conversely, never guilty of doing the same about smoking.

Call me a cynic but if someone peddles factual inaccuracies about vaping, why should we believe everything they say about smoking?