Northern Ireland to be part of Rishi Sunak's UK-wide tobacco and vaping consultation

The department said it has a long-standing strategic aim for a tobacco-free Northern Ireland.

In the last decade the province has seen a reduction in smoking prevalence, with adult smoking rates falling from 24% to 17% over the last 11 years.

Despite falling numbers of adult smokers, approximately 2,200 people die each year in Northern Ireland from smoking-related conditions.

The department has agreed that Northern Ireland will be included in the public consultation launched today by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to help inform future decision-making on tobacco policy and legislation.

The eight-week UK-wide consultation will cover proposals to make it illegal for anyone born on or after January 1 2009 to ever be sold tobacco products at any point in their lives.

The consultation will also include a series of proposals to clamp down on the sale and use of vapes by children and young people including restrictions on flavours, display, packaging and disposable vapes.

Among the proposals are restricting their sale in shops, clamping down on sweet flavours and bright packaging, and looking at whether increasing the price of vapes could cut their appeal to youngsters.

Some experts, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza, have called for an outright ban on disposable vapes after data published in May showed a 50% rise in the last year in the proportion of children trying vaping.

Figures show that disposable vapes are the e-cigarette of choice among youngsters, while purchases of vapes are mostly made from corner shops.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the consultation document would not be available before Thursday.

In a release, it said the proposals would consider "restricting the sale of disposable vapes, which are clearly linked to the rise in vaping in children".

It added: "These products are not only attractive to children but also incredibly harmful to the environment."

The proposals, which form part of the eight-week consultation, will also look at restricting the flavours and descriptions of vapes so that vape flavours are no longer targeted at youngsters.

The proposals will also look at regulating point-of-sale displays in shops so that vapes are kept out of sight from children and away from products that appeal to them, such as sweets.

Curbs may also be introduced on vape packaging and "product presentation" to ensure neither the device nor its packaging is targeted at children.

Former Belfast City Councillor and retired GP Dr John Kyle has campaigned to ban the availability of vapes for children in Northern Ireland.

"Vaping presents serious dangers for children and young people by affecting their brain development and lungs,” he said. “Children as young as eight are becoming addicted, and yet the powerful tobacco and vaping industry is deliberately targeting them. I cannot overemphasise the importance of urgent legislation to address this. Banning the sale of disposable vapes would dramatically reduce vaping.”