Smoking prevalence, vaping laws, snus in Ireland

The overall trend for prevalence of current smokers in the general population in Ireland has been downwards since 2006. 19% of the population in Ireland were current smokers in 2017, down from 29% in 2006. Smoking prevalence reduced steadily during this period, with the exception of 2006-2009 where there was a 2% increase. These data come from the Eurobarometer surveys, the most recent of which was carried out in 2017. In the most recent survey a total of 27,901 respondents from different social and demographic groups were interviewed face-to-face at home, in their mother tongue, across all 28 of the EU countries. The sample for each country is representative, however the sample sizes are relatively small (e.g. most countries had just over 1000 participants, but for Italy, Malta and Lithuania the sample was around 500). Nevertheless, the Eurobarometer surveys are useful as they have estimates for smoking prevalence collected over a number of years which can show trends, as described here.

The Republic of Ireland abides by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) (2014). The law relating to e-cigarettes is Statutory Instrument No. 271 of 2016, European Union (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco and Related Products) Regulations 2016. Nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are regulated as tobacco products. Vaping is not officially prohibited in public places, but many locations have imposed their own vaping bans. Domestic advertising is permitted within the confines of EU law and cross-border sales remain legal providing the retailer is registered with the government.

There are no comments specific to snus in Ireland in the database.

Heated tobacco products must comply with existing tobacco control legislation in Ireland.

There are no comments specific to nicotine replacement therapy in Ireland in the database.