The Government announced during Budget 2025 that e-cigarettes will increase in purchasing due to new taxes being introduced. 

The tax will apply to all e-liquids at a rate of 50c per ml of e-liquid. A typical disposable vape contains 2ml of e-liquid and costs in the region of €8.  

This new tax will bring the price of such a product to €9.23 including VAT. 

The tax will come into effect in the middle of next year. 

It is not a surprise that vapes are seeing this new tax being implemented as it can be seen as a way to discourage young people in Ireland from using vapes. 

Minister for Finance Jack Chambers told the Dáil he was introducing the tax “on public health grounds as there has been a significant rise in their use”. 

The Government believes the tax on vapes is a step in the right direction.  

The Government is also working on legislation to ban the sale of disposable vapes on environmental and public health grounds. 

If that is achieved there could potentially be a big decline in the smoking industry and shopkeepers that primarily sell vapes could be at risk.  

The City.ie was able to sit down with Mohammed, a store owner at Moore Street who sells various items in his store like Prime, keychains, and vapes. 

“See my friend, I don’t mind the new tax coming to my store, I will still get my customers why? Because the vapes sell very well, I just do not want the ban of disposable vapes many people come and buy it here and if it is no longer available, I will lose business”. 

Occupational Therapist Adora Maxell spoke to the City.ie about some of the health risks associated with vaping amongst young people. 

“One of the most common effects of vapes is that they are highly addictive due to their nicotine content and with the youth there are multiple flavourings that create this feel of a different taste with each vape”. 

“During my internship, I saw cases of EVALI (E-cigarettes Vaping-Associated Lung Injury). This condition has been linked to vaping especially vapes that contain THC, it can cause serious lung damage, with symptoms like difficulty breathing, coughing, chest pain, and even hospitalization or and it more severe cases in death fortunately I have not experience to that level. 

“The chemicals within vapes are possibly the worst things about them, they contain very harsh substances like formaldehyde, acrolein, and diacetyl which are damaging to the body when inhaled. Some of the substances can be responsible for what is commonly known as ‘popcorn lungs’ which is another way of saying bronchiolitis,” said Maxell. 

The City.ie also took to the streets of Dublin to ask the general public how they felt about the new taxes being put in place on the vapes. 

“Honestly, I think it is a good incentive going forward, it helps younger and older people alike the question of whether they should be spending their money on vapes right now or use it for something beneficial for themselves”. said Lee Mullen from O’Connell Street. 

 Jane,19 from Cork, also spoke to The City.ie on the issues of vapes. 

“As a young person who buys the occasional vape on a night out or whenever I need to calm myself down it feels unfair going forward, I’ll have to spend even more to do now”. 

“I feel the Government should focus more on helping younger people in other areas like education and housing instead of stuff like this honestly, at least the tax isn’t coming into effect until next year, so I’ll probably stock up or something I don’t know”.