By Wiktoria Sobczak
Due to the negative environmental impact, TD Paul McAuliffe wants to ban disposable vapes.
The use of vapes among young adults is increasing at a rapid rate.
Greenpeace writer Kirsty Scheiby states that disposable vapes are harmful for the environment as they are powered by a battery which is made from lithium, a precious metal which is already facing global shortages.
Disposable vapes were first released in the early 2010’s and have grown in popularity quickly, especially amongst young people. Disposable vapes are sold in a variety of flavours which makes them appealing to young people.
Vaping has also raised multiple health concerns. In 2019, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that people who vape had common symptoms such as respiratory symptoms, shortness of breath, cough, and chest pain.
Other vaping side effects include fatigue, sore throat, irritability, dizziness, nausea, and sleepiness. Although some experts consider vaping less harmful than smoking, there is still a lot to learn about its long-term effects.
TheCity.ie conducted a survey of 50 college students all around Ireland has shown that smoking disposable vapes is normalised within their friend groups.
William O’Hara, manager of Hale Vaping on Parnell Street, says most people who come in to buy disposable vapes are college students in their 20s.
“Most people who pop into the shop are students, I think when disposable vapes are banned, people will start smoking cigarettes again. I do not think vape shops will lose business, normal vapes are still making more money than disposables,” he adds.
The student survey has shown that in the case of disposable vapes being banned, 36% of students will move onto cigarettes, 32% will move onto regular vapes and 28% will stop smoking altogether. The survey has also found that 56% of students didn’t smoke at all before disposable vapes.
The growth of disposable vapes has also made littering a bigger problem, especially in nightclubs.
“I work in a nightclub and at the end of the night there is close to a hundred vapes laying on the ground, most of my colleagues vape themselves,’ says Darragh Casey, a student from University College Cork.
According to Irish Vape Vendors Association (IVVA), the main argument in favour of banning flavoured e-liquids is the potential risk of making vaping products more attractive to minors with child-friendly flavourings and packaging. However, the association between vaping flavours and subsequent smoking initiation is not backed up by evidence.
“Working in a club, I can see how popular vaping is, way more people have elf bars in their hand in the smoking area than actual cigarettes, I don’t smoke, but I find myself occasionally buying a disposable on a night out,” Casey adds.
Here are some of what people on X (formerly known as Twitter) have to say about the potential ban:
“Disposable vapes should have been banned long ago,’’ says Joe Mullery.
‘’They are an environmental nightmare due to all the materials in them, and people don’t dispose of them properly,’’ says Anne-Marie Fuller.
“I’m seeing them more and more dropped on the street lately, it seems like a terrible waste of battery/electronic materials,’’ says Derek O’Keeffe.
There have also been reports of hundreds of disposed vapes found during the Big Beach Clean weekend in Cork on the 28th of September.
“The Big Beach Clean weekend just shows the dire need for a legislative ban in Ireland,” adds Niamh Guiry on X.
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