U18 Vapes banned

Isthisthingon?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522637#Comment_121522637

That does raise an interesting point - one could infer that by not being able to legally buy them then you cant legally use/ consume them. We had this discussion early on today in work - what age could a kid buy them prior to this? had it in our heads that is was 16 for some reason.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522637#Comment_121522637

Same for tobacco products, illegal to sell to U18s, but not to consume if you are U18.

Isthisthingon?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522726#Comment_121522726

I wonder is it because U18 cant be tried as adults etc etc and or you'd have courts full up and down the country with kids before the judge.

Still does seem contradictory.

TheIrishGrover

I can't believe they weren't banned for under 18s until now. That's insane. And yeah, they REALLY have to ban the disposables next. Honest to god, coming out with such a disposable product these days was just shocking.

I always thought the whole vape scene was/is shady AF: From the deliberate targeting of minors with their flavours. To the saturation of their popup stalls everywhere. To the fact that they did come out with such disposable devices in 2022/2023. To the overall lack of regulation. God knows WHAT'S in them. They need to go. And now! They should be treated exactly the same as cigarettes.

rob316

I own a vape shop, I and another large group of shop owners are petitioning the government for years to ban to under 18's. It's too little too late, damage is done, the whole industry has been demonized, tax and flavour bans are next until the industry is left to big tobacco. Quite ironic really

The day a rep showed me an elf bar, I said this was the beginning of the end. Kids will love these and they are a major waste problem.

Grayson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522834#Comment_121522834

here's the thing though, the flavours have been around for years. But that's long before disposables were around. And back then it'd cost a minimum of 40 euros to get set up. It was a hobbyist thing more than anything else. Then they started making it cheap and accessible.

Grayson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522694#Comment_121522694

I'd always assumed it was 18. And when I was in Ireland my local vape shop said that they'd only sell to 18 years old.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522944#Comment_121522944

A responsible shop won't but there was an expolision of vape shops on the back of disposables. Addictive product that lasts barely a day, that you can double your money on. Literally overnight our sales were 40% disposables, I never saw any product take off like that. We don't sell much of them now as adult vapers realised they are a waste of money and we don't sell to kids.

The TPD (Tobacco products directive) was brought in by the EU in 2016, one part was the ban of sales to under 18's, for some absolutely bizarre reason the Irish government did not transpose over that part.

Deebles McBeebles

I really can't see it making much difference in numbers of kids vaping though. Some of you might remember waiting outside the local off licence, hoping for someone to buy you a few cans or a naggin of Russia's finest. Have a look outside your local dodgy vape shop now, queues of them, usually in uniform and people are happy to oblige. Will it be an offence to buy for minors too?

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523066#Comment_121523066

Of course it will make a difference, there is so many shops selling to any age openly, a couple of visits from mystery shoppers and the shops are shut down.

A proper vape shop takes years to establish, building a repeat customer base, knowing your product. Most of these new shops I see don't sell any kits, have any knowledge, just sells disposables.

Deebles McBeebles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523112#Comment_121523112

Yes and disposables are what kids buy so you're asking a lot of shop owners to lose money. Call me pessimistic but...

As for mystery shoppers, I hope it's as well enforced as you think, I doubt it though. Even if a shop was to be shut down, they pop up like meerkats, so I can't imagine changing the name of the business and starting again would be very difficult. It's about quick money for some of these folks, they aren't interested in establishing anything.

I can't find anything about it being an offence to buy for a minor so we'll see how far the numbers drop. I hope I'm wrong.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523140#Comment_121523140

That is why we have been looking for the bare minimum in regulation. To keep away unscrupulous cash grab retailers.

After the initial introduction to the market adult vapers really don't use disposables, they are as expensive as cigarettes if you smoke 20 a day.

If you don't smoke you shouldn't vape. They are highly addictive the latest generation of nicotine salt products found in disposables.

Recommend anyone watches Big Vape on netflix about the rise and fall of Juul.

jonski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523066#Comment_121523066

I live down the road from one vape shop in a local shopping center, and past two other shops on my travels this morning ... no queues outside any of them .

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522176#Comment_121522176

a quick google tells you what you need to know..... ✌️

I assumed nicotine or tobacco were already banned for sale to under 18s.

Disposable vapes need to be outlawed from an environmental perspective. You see these plastic tubes on the ground everywhere. They have a small lithium battery in them; they get used once and then thrown on the ground. The clowns who run this country have their priorities ass-backwards

Deebles McBeebles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523238#Comment_121523238

They won't be forming an orderly queue outside, they'll be around the corner or nearby. The parents would see them if they just queued outside the shop.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523476#Comment_121523476

There is a queue of countries looking to ban them but it's not that simple, it has to go through the EU commission

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523498#Comment_121523498

It should be very simple for them to act on it, as there is little dissent.

Get it effing done.

dalyboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523498#Comment_121523498

Hey Rob. I’m curious how the government or governments in other countries are going to justify banning flavours liquids. I would presume (certainly I do) flavours in e-liquids out sell “tobacco” flavoured liquids as the last thing an ex smoker wants to be reminded of is real cigarettes.

If they outright ban ecigs it will send a spotlight on governments that they care not of anyone’s health but only on the taxes they are collecting on real cigarettes (they are in effect giving smokers no avenue away from tobacco products)

That said , it’ll be impossible for them to fully ban. The ecigs I vape are merely a battery with a pod attached to it. They’re easily sourced abroad if they attempt to close down vape stores which will be my course of action if it comes to reality.

RobbieV

Nicotine products including vape should be prescription only and for people quitting smoking. Some sort of tapering down program . Time to get rid of cigarettes altogether and shelf nicotine.

Highly addictive and poisonous, without any benefit.

Huge number of young people who never smoked now addicted to nicotine through vaping. Owned by big tobacco.

Gregor Samsa

Just did a search for “vape online”. And hit the first result.

Heres’s the extent of their age verification. Absolutely foolproof…

bladespin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121525234#Comment_121525234

I'm sure that's adequate to visit the site, to purchase might be a different thing though, maybe try that.

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121526080#Comment_121526080

There’s no age restrictions on the cart, address or payment pages, no requirement to have an account that’s verified in any way, no mention of any age verification on delivery. They even make a big deal about how a neighbour can take your package if you’re not in in their support section.

I work for a multinational e-commerce company, dealing specifically with client implementations, which includes regulation compliance, so this is an area I have specific and extensive professional experience in.

There’s nothing on this site stopping children buying vapes.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121521128#Comment_121521128

I read somewhere that they put rechargeable batteries into disposable vapes.

Thought it was a load of sh1te, until I found one on the street and opened it up. There is the equivalent of a brand new electric car battery being fcuked into the bin with every 50,000 of these yokes that are sold

jonski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121526277#Comment_121526277

There used to be a few years back but it was only verification with a picture of your Driving licence or passport and I suppose you could just borrow someone elses . I imagine any changes they make to age verification now would only be countered with people buying from online shops over the border .

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121527036#Comment_121527036

Requesting some form of ID that gets verified before they can create an account would be a start. Even though it wouldn’t be fool proof, it would show that the vendor is making a good faith effort to verify customers’ ages.

Of course, the problem isn’t just vapes. Alcohol can easily be bought my minors online. https://molloys.ie/ only have a 18s checkbox in their checkout. They do say that the delivery person may ask for ID. All the other online off-licenses and hamper companies are the same. A very cursory attempt to verify age. The problem is that there isn’t an agreed framework or standard for age verification, so no-one takes it seriously

But things are changing. The EU, the UK and the US are all starting to crack down on minor access to porn. The EU’s impending Digital Services Act will place strict age verification obligations on large porn sites over a certain threshold of traffic, with (excuse the pun) stiff penalties (https://apnews.com/article/porn-websites-age-verification-digital-services-act-64584aae905cb344dd3e1bfb385c7c27). The UK and US are implementing similar controls

The EU is also researching a bloc-wide “digital age certificate” that could be used to verify age, and may eventually become a legal requirement for age restricted products and services, under the euConsent initiative: (https://euconsent.eu/a-summary-of-the-achievements-and-lessons-learned-of-the-euconsent-project-and-what-comes-next/)

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121526955#Comment_121526955

There's some industrious folk putting them to good use,

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058286263/old-used-disposable-vapes-wanted

but it is scandalous that they're just being thrown away.

The WEEE regulations - in this particular instance at least - aren't doing what they're supposed to do.