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BLANCHARDSTOWN CENTRE, Ireland’s largest shopping centre, has outlawed the use of e-cigarettes outside of smoking areas.
The practice of using e-cigarettes, known as ‘vaping’, has come under fire in recent times and there has been suggestions that it needs to be regulated.
Marketing manager for Blanchardstown Centre Mercy Prendergast said: “The use of electronic cigarettes in doors could have a health impact. There are health issues that haven’t been looked into.
“Some of the stores in the centre do sell them…. people are still permitted to use the e-cigarettes in the designated smoking areas.”
The ban follows on from a number of public service bans of vaping. Irish Rail banned the use of e-cigarettes on its services in February of this year, with Dublin Bus following suit in March. Both company cited an anti-smoking policy as a reason for the ban, fearing the devices could cause confusion.
The HSE banned the use of e-cigarettes in May this year. At the time the HSE’s National Director of Health and Wellbeing Dr. Stephanie O’Keeffe said: “The HSE can only recommend safe and effective products and strategies for quitting smoking, and there currently is no conclusive evidence that e-cigarettes are safe for long-term use, or are effective as a smoking cessation aid.”
The government is currently in the process of introducing restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes. This would include banning their sale to under-18s. The proposal for this legislation was brought to cabinet by Health Minister James Reilly last month.
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Can’t someone just get these things investigated and find out if there’s any possible harm to the public so we can move on with this!
Science is not a exact science, unfortunately.
Time can only tell the real harm from these cigarettes. Why wait 30 years to see the harm done? We should be moving towards a true non smoking society.
ACSH recieved 350,000 from philip morris and reynolds tobacco to carry out the research. biased?
ACSH recieved 350,000 from philip morris and reynolds tobacco to carry out the research. biased?
Yeah but all the other studies show the same thing so ASH UK and all the rest are also being paid by the tobacco companies? BTW tobacco companies support public use bans, this plays to their hands as it reduces the incentive to switch from cigs to ecigs.
ASH have conducted no research into the effects of e-cigarettes, though they do clearly state that toxins have been found in many e-cigarette products and that no thorough research has been done into these devices.
This has in fact been done… countless times, no harm has yet been found. But because its not found the argument is that the HARM is there…but NOT YET found… You’d imagine after ten years someone would draw a line under that.
Anyway there are tons of scientific studies, experiences and whatnot of ecig vapour, not to mention the utter absence of folks in hospital wards suffering from ecig vapour issues… In fact there are hundreds of times LESS calls to the poisons units for ecigs than for coffee!
More than that they cite the studies and experiments that found those toxins… one often cited was the 2009 FDA study that found some nitrosamines and Polyethylene glycol in one cartridge…. and the level of the polyethylene glycol… well the FDA’s own safe level is 11,000 parts per billion… you are allowed to make babys teats for bottles with 11,000 parts per billion of polyethlene glycol..
The level of nitrosamines they found were safer than toast or even milk!
The level they found in the eliquid of polyethylene glycol was 8 parts per billion on the cusp of undetectable…
So they found that ecig cartridges were safe… and concluded they found toxins!
To state DANGERS where one has just demonstrated total safety is NOT good science!
It has already been done. The document is calle ‘Peering through the mist and was compiled by leaders in the field. The conclusion states… “Current state of knowledge about chemistry of liquids and aerosols associated with electronic cigarettes indicates that there is no evidence that vaping produces inhalable exposures to contaminants of the aerosol that would warrant health concerns by the standards that are used to ensure safety of workplaces. However, the aerosol generated during vaping as a whole (contaminants plus declared ingredients) creates personal exposures that would justify surveillance of health among exposed persons in conjunction with investigation of means to keep any adverse health effects as low as reasonably achievable. Exposures of bystanders are likely to be orders of magnitude less, and thus pose no apparent concern.”
I would ask you to read the last line more than once.
You can find the full document here…
Have been using E Cigs for over 18 Months and would never dream of using it in any area where smoking is not allowed.
I gave up cold turkey 4 days ago.
Put down your wimpy e fag and
DO IT LIKE A BOSS
4 DAYS NO STRESS HERE IM GOOD!
Sorry to rain on your parade Glen but 4 days cold turkey is absolutely nothing to boast about. When you hit 21-28 days then that’s a celebration time but the worst of it is yet to come for you.
Well done Glen, that is one kick-ass achievement and sincerely wishing you every success.
“One hour at a time” will get you there.
Blanchardstown would want to sort out their “smoking areas”. Basically, groups of smokers congregate right outside the door so you have no option but to walk through them to get inside. I don’t know if they have actual smoking areas but if they do, they need to enforce it and if not, they need to do something. It’s disgusting!
As an ex smoker the walking through the smoke at the front door is a little piece off heaven.
And as a non-smoker carrying a baby, walking through the smoke at the front door is a little piece of hell.
As an ex smoker, walking through the cloud of smoke is disgusting.
It makes me glad I managed to get off them.
As an e cigarette user, why should I be forced to stand with the smokers? After all I have made the move to stop. It is almost two years now after 52 years of heavy smoking, since I quit cigarettes, and this, after attempt after attempt to stop using will power, patches, gums. I would get past two or three days sometimes then give in. I even went 6 months on lozenges, and boy, did i get through the disgusting things. Every day was hell and all I thought about was cigarettes. Then I saw an e cig for sale, bought it and a cigarette has never passed my lips since.
So why ban them? Why are so many people against their use?
The link is a broadcast recently on BBC Radio. The broadcaster answers that question right at the start. “Was my revulsion justified or was it irrational. was it something deep within my psyche?”
No Gov wants to as they are harmful to the exchequer.
How much do smoking related diseases cost the gov??
that’s more than covered by tobacco tax
Is it?? What about the family and friends left behind after the loss of a person? Or is it just the monetary value we count? Cancer and copd are horrendous diseases. Imagine watching a loved one needlessly suffering for months all because they loved the stinky sticks??
It really isn’t covered by excise.
if the tobacco doent kill them then the alcohol or fatty foods will get them, do you ban these too?
Junk food and alcohol? Usual tripe… You shouldnt put them all in the one bracket. If people over indulge in anything, it’s unhealthy. They do no harm in moderation. Only takes 1 cigarette to do damage!
Better still, ask the question, How much profit does the pharmaceutical industry make from sales of NRT products? How much more does this industry make from the sale of drugs to fight smoking related conditions? What industry pays for and influences those bodies which are promoting ban in public places? What are the ties between ‘health experts’ and this industry?
The tobacco industry makes cigarettes which make people ill. The pharmaceutical industry make drugs to treat the conditions. Without cigarettes there would be no profit for government, for the tobacco companies, for the pharmaceutical industry. And more……
asthma inhalers must also be banned so.
they contain the same vapour as e-cigs and represent the same threat to Blanch shoppers.
The Abbey Theater and pantos nationwide should also be investigated if they are using smoke machines using glycol.
I wonder what the consequences of breaking the ban are? And who will enforce it? Will it be legal to eject someone for vaping? Interesting.
Try it and let us know the outcome
I really should not say this but, in the case of e cigarettes, if you inhale and hold it in for a few seconds, you cannot see any vapour. There is no side stream vapour; no smell – nothing, so you can happily vape away in this centre all day long and your chances of being caught are virtually nil – however if you are spotted, carry just the battery part of first generation device. This lights up at the end if you suck on it and you can demonstrate this. Unless there is a regulation saying, ‘no sucking on batteries, there is nothing to be done.
The ban on e cigarette use is totally unenforceable if people decide to defy it..
typical free state nannyism , if this is a health issue why not ban people from eating junk food in the shopping centre
Because you’re harming nobody but yourself if you decide to eat junk food. And this has nothing to do with the State – the Blanchardstown Centre is a private business and can manage it however they see fit
This is the opposite of state nannyism, it’s a private company making decisions regardless of what the state says is legal. #omg #youththesedays
Im so glad I have no asthma anymore since using the ecig and by the first time in years be able to do nice runs
how much money are the government losing from people using e cigs rather than smoking tobacco , Mmm lets demonise ecigs tell the sheep they are dangerous as an excuse to tax them
Fisrtly, Any money the government make, goes to benefit the Irish people. Secondly “The Government rakes in an estimated €2 billion a year in tax revenue from cigarettes but roughly the same amount is spent on treating illness caused by tobacco”. http://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklowpeople/lifestyle/government-spends-2bn-tax-revenue-from-cigarettes-on-smokingrelated-illnesses-29083408.html#sthash.xWFUOZba.dpuf
If you think any money the government makes benefits anyone but the government you are seriously deluded
What the hell are you talking about.? Is that just speculation or have you any sources? Why do you people not get that it is OUR government, not “THE” as if it’s an arbitrary Government . It’s your countries choice of people in government. Elected representatives of the people of Ireland! If you don’t like how our government do things, then vote in a different one that will represent how you want our country to be run or failing that, get into politics yourself and see how you get on. I’m not saying there is no instances of individual greed or the sometimes the power goes to weaker people’s heads but saying that, most people are decent and start off in politics because they care about people.
So Marie, Re my reply above, who makes profit out of cigarettes? Answer, the tobacco companies and the pharmaceutical industry. This industry is the driving force behind the bans on e cigarettes. The tobacco industry is not worried as they have entered the market. It is pharma and its minions in the public health industry who are really worried – lost jobs, lost prestige, lost profits.
How could you use electronic cigarettes in doors? You could certainly use them in large wardrobes or large presses but I have difficulty comprehending the in door angle.
Fair play,
There’s no smoke without fire…
Smokers wont be happy.
Plus the journal agrees – their “taking a stand” bit in the headline suggests they think it’s the right move
It’s is, and about time too
Smokers won’t care, they can’t smoke indoors anyway, this apply to non smokers.
Odd that someone not smoking is now included in a ban on people smoking.
Vaporisers don’t produce smoke… they produce a substance that puts fires out rather ironically… goes to show what you know.
I appreciate this, although many won’t like it!
Think about it, you smoke for nothing!
This is a pure publicity stunt. Your wan in blanchardstown is seizing a moment. Absolute joke.
A nice BOYCOTT by vapers of blachardstown centre would tell them where to get off… that could be arranged too if they would like to experience the outfall of the stunt….lets see how their tenants feel about a decrease in footfall during a consumer spending downturn.
Vapers have wives, kids, husbands, brothers, sisters etc. All of those folks go shopping with the vaper… who might now not be inclined to offer their custom where its clearly not wanted.
To be clear, vaping is not smoking. It’s steam. After 2 months vaping, the smell of burning tobacco is disgusting to me. I don’t smoke and I don’t want to. If I wishto remain addicted to nicotine, that’s my business, no one else’s. it’s not a moral issue.
I don’t vape inside shops regardless of rules, because maybe others don’t want to smell it (though all my mates who do smell it think it smells good and don’t mind).
This thread has rapidly degenerated into a smoking/non-smoking debate and that’s disturbing as VAPOUR IS NOT SMOKE.
The last thing your body needs is pollution from nicotine or e ciggs,thats why i quit seven years ago, hospitals are full of people with smoke related deseases,yet some can still be seen in their pyjamas smoking outside hospital doors.
Not everything you put into your body or your mouth is pollution… There is no pollution from ecigs either. In fact rather ironically the primary ingredient in ecig vapour kills bacteria…so if anything it removes pollution!
This is the primary problem here… folks are making decisions based on zero information, in direct contradiction TO the information available or know what the information is and are outright choosing to ignore that on ideological grounds.
After all drinking a class of water LOOKS LIKE drinking a glass of vodka… Water has impurities in it too, in Ireland MORE impurities than you find in ecig vapor… should we ban water too?
Dublin bus has banned e-cigarettes? Sure they still smoke normal cigarettes on several buses I’ve been on, including the 27. People still smoke in hospital grounds, for example Beaumont hospital. Bans in this country mean nothing.
the country is run by gangsters so people should live by their own rules
I suppose you mean those gangsters who were voted in by Irish people by proportional representation! ? The “rules” as you call them, are there because society wants them there, to protect the individual. It would be ideal to live in a stateless society but I couldn’t trust ***kers like you ! :) so abide by the rules and lets keep the show on the road. ;)
“…to protect the individual.” And what exactly is a ban on e cigarettes protecting the individual from?
Pathetic claiming a health risk as so far no evidence of any risk has been shown. Why don’t they just tell the truth and admit they are banning them because they don’t like the look of it. To say the health risks haven’t been looked into is a lie.
But it’s their shop so they get to set the rules. Bye bye Blanch for me then.
Here we go again the nanny state drama queens are out in force again.
Claims of nanny state are the last refuge of a morally bankrupt argument
Nanny state is a horrible term. What this is is snobbery.
The most ironic thing about this is that vaporized polypropylene glycol is a bactericide and kills about 90% of the most common bacteria that infect humans… so if they truly wanted clean air they would pump the stuff through the ventilation system as is done in hospitals.
The irony of the claim they want CLEAN AIR by removing a substance that CLEANS AIR is not lost on me for one! Anyway I’ll be breaking their rules and if they don’t like it they can see me across a courtroom and demonstrate how water vapor is lowering the air purity in a shopping centre with humans breathing in and out.
Wonder how much fumes our bus or train service lets into the air each year- this is what’s killing people- but we all need transport so we forget about the elephant in the room- ( no one really cares about health if we drive )-
None so pure than the reformed smoker!, they really are the most obnoxious and pious human beings you can ever encounter, they think they were after saving mankind because they managed to quit the habit.
That doesn’t apply to all ex-smokers btw just a small minority.
Did you know that a burning plastic bag is extremely more toxic than any one cigarette?..
I dont smoke or vap but james riely had 3 years to make a stand on e-smokes and waits until now to say somethung but instead he spent his time feckin up the health services and done his best to screw us all over in broad daylight with his treatment centres and tbe childrens hospitals ridiclous final location in the heart of the most densly populated part of Ireland on tbe assumption that it has more land than blanch hos or abbotstown or even tallaght ffs. Hope he has been given the bullet today…but something tells me he has a lot more fiddling and to do yet….
To understand the ban, you need to understand the people behind the ban. Read the following – it is complex but explains a great deal.
http://antithrlies.com/2014/07/09/economic-illiteracy-about-tobacco-from-the-antepode/
have your say