PEOPLE ARE BEING failed by the sheer volume of vapes being illegally sold in Ireland, our investigation over the past month has shown.

Experts told us this was a failure of enforcement by authorities and of regulation by the government.

When The Journal Investigates set out to examine the vaping industry late last year, our team did not expect to find that over 80% of the shops we visited sold us a disposable vape that breached regulations.

I was part of the undercover team that bought vapes around Dublin.

We had compiled a list of what vapes should have in terms of warning labels, sealed packaging, volume of e-liquid and other specifications.

Armed with that knowledge, we popped into every shop we passed that sold vapes in the city centre one morning in December.

When we came back to examine what we bought, we were astonished.

We knew instantly that a handful broke the law, in particular disposable vapes with more than 2ml e-liquid.

Vapes with more than this volume have appeared on the EU rapid alert system with warnings stating that the excessive volume of liquid could lead to “the accidental consumption of a high dose of nicotine”.

But on closer examination when we analysed each of the vapes, it turned out that our team ended up with far more law-breaking vapes than we initially realised.

We were prepared with a list of what to look out for. How can people who just walk in off the street be certain the vapes they buy are safe?

Our investigation shows that right now people certainly aren’t getting the assurances they should be.

Screengrab from our undercover footage showing vapes with over the legal limit of e-liquid for sale. Image: Maria Delaney / The Journal Investigates

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Last year, the HSE had a target of 40 planned inspections of vape manufacturers and distributors, according to its National Plan 2024.

In the space of 1.5 hours, our team – which consisted of myself and Conor O’Carroll – visited 16 randomly selected locations, with 13 selling us vapes that broke regulations.

A spokesperson for the HSE told The Journal Investigates the National Environmental Health Service (NEHS) “undertakes a targeted inspection and sampling programme, with a particular focus on checking for nicotine content and volume of liquid in electronic cigarettes”.

Just last week, the NEHS notified the public to stop using four types of vape after test results showed the legal nicotine concentration was exceeded, with sample results ranging between 26.9mg/ml and over 30 mg/ml.

As part of this series, we also reported that over 64 tonnes of illegal vapes have been seized by the NEHS and stopped from entering Ireland in the last two years.

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The HSE also told us they would investigate the stores that illegally sold us these vapes, as well as all other breaches our team found from the vapes we purchased.

What is regulation without proper enforcement?

More regulations are in the pipeline, with a proposed ban of disposable vapes and flavours mooted by the government.

But given the number of vapes already slipping through, the question will be whether even stronger laws will be enforced.

This has been an issue in other jurisdictions. In the United States, despite only certain tobacco- and menthol-flavoured vapes being approved,  numerous reports show that unauthorised vapes continue to “flood” the market.

The issue of regulation is a contentious one. Retailer groups want tougher laws for criminals involved in smuggling and illegal sale of vapes.

We also reported from lobbying records that the vaping and tobacco industry welcome some increase in regulation, such as the under-18 ban, but push back on others, including a ban on the display of the currently brightly coloured and appealing packaging.

It may not come as a surprise to many that, like other countries, our main tobacco companies in Ireland are looking to legitimate vaping products to safeguard bumper profits as cigarette sales fall.

Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ lobby group Forest, who receives “donations from tobacco companies in the UK and Ireland” told us “instead of obsessing about the motives of a legitimate industry, public health campaigners should work with the industry for the long-term benefit of adults who enjoy consuming nicotine”.

But when the tobacco industry becomes so invested in a product, it is difficult not to pose questions.

Researchers are still examining the safety of vaping. The HSE states that “compared to cigarettes, vaping may be less harmful”. But it is “not harm-free” and long-term impacts are unknown.

Professor Donal O’Shea of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) told The Journal Investigates that each vape using different chemicals to provide flavouring makes it difficult for researchers and regulators to accurately predict the impact vapes may have on our health.

Our investigation shows that added to that potential harm are vapes that don’t adhere to regulations — something that O’Shea told us is heaping another pile of risk already on top of “an unknown and large amount of risk”.

From our findings, that additional risk is what authorities can do more to prevent. How this will be achieved is a challenge for the new government.

But the next time I’m in a corner shop it won’t come as any surprise to see vapes at the counter that shouldn’t be for sale. 

Maria Delaney is the editor of The Journal Investigates. The team’s full series on vaping can be read here >>