Read articles from Ireland

October 16, 2026 by daily-pouch.com

Ireland’s 2027 Budget will increase e-liquid excise from €0.50 to €0.70 per ml from January, adding approximately €2.46 to the price of a 10ml bottle, including VAT. Cigarette duty is also rising by €1 per pack, despite estimates that 28% of cigarettes consumed in Ireland in 2025 were illicit.

With smoking prevalence remaining around 17%, well above the country’s original smokefree target of 5%, the affordability of lower-risk alternatives deserves greater attention. Higher vaping costs could weaken financial incentives to switch and disproportionately affect lower-income smokers. Effective tobacco taxation should consider consumer behaviour, illicit trade and the relative risks of different nicotine products, rather than focusing on revenue alone.

October 16, 2026 by snusforumet.se

Sweden’s political deadlock is now affecting the future of nicotine taxation across the EU. The October vote on the revised Tobacco Excise Directive has been postponed until November, while uncertainty over Sweden’s next government raises questions about whether an agreement can be reached.

At the centre of the disagreement is Sweden’s opposition to EU-wide tax rules that could treat nicotine pouches similarly to combustible tobacco. Sweden has argued for taxation that reflects differences in product risk, consistent with its tobacco harm reduction approach. The outcome could have significant implications for the affordability of smoke-free alternatives and the future direction of European nicotine policy.

October 09, 2026 by planetofthevapes.co.uk

The new GSTHR briefing paper focuses on a shift that is already happening: people moving from cigarettes to safer nicotine products. These transitions are not theoretical policy models; they can be seen across countries where vapes, pouches, snus and heated tobacco products are changing patterns of nicotine use. That matters because the public health gain comes from reducing exposure to combustion, even when nicotine use continues. Regulation should understand these pathways before it disrupts them.

September 30, 2026 by clearingtheair.eu

A claim from the top of government can shape what thousands of smokers believe about risk. Describing vaping and cigarettes in a way that blurs their differences does not protect public health; it can make lower-risk choices look pointless. Researchers challenging the Irish PM’s statement should be taken seriously because risk communication has consequences. Political messages on nicotine need to be accurate, proportionate and clear about the far greater harms of combustion.

September 29, 2026 by gsthr.org

For many people, the route away from smoking is not one clean break but a transition. The latest GSTHR Briefing Paper looks at emerging shifts from cigarettes to safer nicotine products across countries, showing how people reduce risk by changing the way they use nicotine. These country-level patterns matter because they reveal what happens when alternatives are available, acceptable and understood. Tobacco policy should learn from those real-world transitions instead of treating continued nicotine use as a failure.

September 22, 2026 by thejournal.ie

The phrase “vaping is worse than smoking” does more than misstate the evidence — it changes behaviour. A smoker who believes that message may see little reason to switch, even though cigarettes remain the far more harmful product. Good fact-checking restores the missing hierarchy: vaping is not harmless, but it is not smoking. Clear risk communication can be the difference between staying with combustion and taking a less harmful route away from it.

September 14, 2026 by politico.eu

The EU’s delayed tobacco tax vote shows how contested the future of nicotine policy has become. Sweden’s election has turned timing into strategy, but the deeper question is whether Europe will tax according to risk or flatten cigarettes, vapes, pouches and heated tobacco into one category. A credible fiscal framework should keep combustible tobacco clearly less attractive than lower-risk alternatives. Tax policy can raise revenue, but it should not erase the incentives that help smokers move away from combustion.

September 10, 2026 by smokefreesweden.org

Ireland’s Taoiseach has been accused of dangerously misleading smokers after claiming vapes are “nearly worse than cigarettes” and signalling support for an outright ban.

Micheál Martin’s comments contradict the latest evidence from Cochrane, widely regarded as the gold standard for independent medical evidence.

Cochrane’s latest review, published on August 26, found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes help more people quit smoking than traditional nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) such as patches and gum.

August 17, 2026 by clearingtheair.eu

Prisons show why harm reduction has to deal with practical risks, not only ideals. Safer vape access can reduce second-hand smoke exposure, support people who smoke and lower fire risks linked to illicit or improvised products. That is public health in a controlled environment: fewer hazards, clearer rules and less pressure on staff and residents. Ireland’s approach should recognise that reducing harm often starts with making the safer option workable.

August 12, 2026 by smokefreesweden.org

Ireland’s vape ban debate is becoming a test of whether public health can separate protection from overreach. Restrictions aimed at reducing youth use may sound straightforward, but they can also remove products that help adults stay away from cigarettes. The risk is a policy that looks tough while making smoking harder to escape. A better approach would target underage access and illicit sales without closing legal routes to lower-risk alternatives.