MEP Nina Carberry has called on the European Commission to accelerate long-awaited reforms to the EU’s tobacco laws, warning that existing rules have failed to keep pace with the explosion of vaping products.
Carberry, who serves as a member of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Children’s Rights, said the EU’s tobacco directive — last updated over a decade ago — no longer reflects today’s realities, particularly the growing influence of social media platforms such as Snapchat in exposing young people to vaping products.
“We cannot tackle this problem in isolation,” Carberry said. “That’s why revising EU rules on tobacco products and advertising must also go hand in hand with changes to the EU’s digital legislation.”
Her comments come as EU leaders work to form a joint position ahead of next month’s World Health Organisation Conference on Tobacco Control in Switzerland.
Carberry is pushing for an EU-wide ban on features that make vapes appealing to children, saying the restriction of flavours is especially important in reducing youth uptake.
A recent Foróige study found that 36% of young people aged 13–16 said they vape despite never having smoked before — a trend Carberry described as deeply worrying.
She welcomed Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill’s announcement that the Government will soon introduce new national legislation to curb vaping, but warned that Ireland must also “learn from other EU countries, including Belgium, which banned disposable vapes and restricted advertising earlier this year.”
“We need to look at the Belgian case, and the issues they have with enforcing the rules,” Carberry said. “Too many retailers ignore the law.”
The MEP added that inspections and enforcement in Ireland must increase, pointing to continuing loopholes in the ban on selling vapes to under-18s and the largely unregulated online sale of vaping products, which she described as a “wild west.”
“Europe has an important role to play in protecting young people both offline and online,” she concluded. “Strengthening EU vaping and advertising rules is key to that effort.”
