All parties should "put their shoulder to the wheel" and back the Government’s ban on the sale of disposable vapes, the Taoiseach has said.

Cabinet is today expected to approve Health Minister Stephen Donnelly’s plan to introduce a complete ban on the sale, manufacture or import of disposable vapes.

Minister Donnelly is warning that disposable vapes are a “scourge on the environment” and are disproportionately used by younger people.

He is also warning that most disposable vapes contain the maximum permitted levels of nicotine and “on their own are not an effective means of quitting smoking”.

"Vaping is the revenge of the tobacco industry."

Taoiseach @SimonHarrisTD asks all parties in the Dáil to back a ban on the sale of disposable vapes in Ireland.

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) September 10, 2024

Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, the Taoiseach Simon Harris said more than one-in-10 Irish teenagers have recently vaped.

“I've said for a long time - I said it when I was health minister and I believe it as Taoiseach – that vaping is the revenge of the tobacco industry,” he said.

“We live in a country where around 13% of people between the ages of 12 and 17 have vaped in the last 30 days.

“We need to take action in relation to that.”

Mr Harris said the environmental toll of disposable vapes is clear across the country.

“What we're seeing in our towns and our villages and our cities right across the country is now the littering [linked to] vaping as well as the health concerns too,” he said.

“So, I'd ask all parties in the Dáil to put their shoulders fully to the wheel now and let's get this legislation passed.

“It’s an important piece of public health legislation.”

Reporting from Stephanie Rohan.