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26th August 2024
04:28pm BST
With the number of young people vaping increasing in recent years, the foundation is sounding the alarm on what they see as a growing public health crisis.
A recent study revealed that a third of Irish teenagers aged 13 to 16 have taken up vaping without ever having smoked, highlighting the growing appeal of e-cigarettes among that generation.
While the HSE acknowledges that vaping “may be less harmful” than traditional tobacco use, they also caution that it is “not harm-free,” and the long-term effects remain largely unknown.
Chris Macey, a spokesperson for the Irish Heart Foundation, spoke of his deep concern over the increasing number of young people becoming addicted to nicotine through vaping.
“Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances on the planet,” Macey said during an interview on Newstalk Breakfast.
“There’s been an explosion in the use of vaping; the latest figures show almost a quarter of 15 to 17-year-olds are now regularly using e-cigarettes. We just need to do more to protect them from becoming trapped in lifelong addiction.”
Macey noted that many young people are already seeking help to quit vaping, with quit services receiving a significant number of calls from youth looking for support.
He also mentioned that Spunout has seen “thousands of views” on its page dedicated to quitting vaping, indicating a strong demand for resources to help young people break free from a nicotine addiction.
In the US, a program called "This is Quitting" has successfully helped three-quarters of a million teenagers and young adults quit vaping, increasing quit rates by 35%.
Macey believes that similar initiatives could be effective in Ireland, but he fears that the country is lagging behind in its response to the vaping crisis.
“Up to now, the State hasn’t done enough to protect young people from vaping,” Macey stated.
“We were one of the last countries in Europe to ban the sale of vapes to children, and we think that part of upping our game has to be to help young people quit before they become fully gripped by an addiction that can have lifelong consequences.”
In addition to increased awareness efforts, the Irish Heart Foundation is also pushing for a series of strict regulations, including a ban on child-friendly vape flavours, a complete ban on advertising vapes, plain packaging for e-cigarettes, and a prohibition on disposable vapes.
“The Government has promised action on this, and we do think they’re getting their act together on it,” Macey said.
“We very much hope that something happens on this very soon.”