The legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products is set to rise from 18 to 21, under new legislation being introduced by the Minister for Health.
Stephen Donnelly will this week seek Cabinet approval for the legislation to increase the legal age by three years.
The bill will be designed so that it does not affect those who are between the ages of 18 and 21 and who are currently legally entitled to be sold tobacco products.
The prohibition on the retail sale of tobacco products will not apply to this cohort for a “wash through” period.
Raising the minimum legal age of the sale of tobacco products is expected to lead to a significant reduction in smoking prevalence and addiction.
Mr Donnelly announced his intention to increase the legal age for buying tobacco products in March.
He said: “Really it’s a measure aimed at people who are 15, 16, 17 years of age that with a smoking age at 18, they find it relatively easy to buy cigarettes…but that if you move to 21 it makes it much more difficult.”
According to the “Tobacco 21” report by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Policy Group (RCPI), experimentation with smoking is highest among teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17.
It said raising the minimum legal age for the sale of tobacco products in Ireland would reduce the number of teenagers and young adults who become addicted to tobacco and could cut smoking rates by 25% among young teenagers.
According to the RCPI, around 4,500 people die in Ireland each year from the effects of smoking, making it the single biggest contributor to early death. Thousands more suffer from smoking-related diseases, including heart and lung disease, and cancers.
Director of Advocacy and Patient Support with the Irish Heart Foundation described the legislation as one of the most important healthcare measures in recent times.
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Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Chris Macey said: “We would regard this as one of the most important public health measures for years and really a crucial step to protect the next generation from the deadly effects of smoking.
“There’s still 4,500 people dying every year as a direct result of smoking.
“As a nation and as a Government, we sort of lost our way in tobacco control for many years and this really changes the dial or will change the dial back in the right direction.”
He said that the ‘Tobacco 21’ policy is the logical next step and “what we would like to see is for this to come in and be accompanied by a national debate on phasing out the legal age of sale of tobacco completely over time”.
Mr Macey added that polls suggest that the public is very much in favour of the reform.
A ban on the sale of tobacco and vape products from vending machines is also set to be enacted.
Further legislation is planned to ban disposable vapes, address issues around flavours of vapes and the bright colours of vape packaging.
