LATEST: New ban on the sale of vapes and tobacco now in effect – here's what to know

A new ban has been introduced in Ireland prohibiting the sale of vapes, cigarettes and tobacco products. 

The new ban has officially come into effect from Monday September 29, 2025. 

This new measure is not a wide scale ban on tobacco and nicotine products but rather affects people trying to purchase cigarettes, vapes and tobacco from self-service and vending machines. 

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These vending machines are predominantly found inside pubs and nightclubs. 

The Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill stated that his ban is targeted at reducing the access to these products for people under the age of 18. 

It is a part of the government aim to reduce smoking prevalence in Ireland to under 5%. 

She explained that: “Sometimes children have been able to access these harmful products, this is unacceptable, and this ban will ensure that this can no longer happen. This is another significant milestone in implementing our national tobacco control policy.” 

Carroll MacNeill continued: “The ban aligns with our broader public health strategy to reduce and prevent tobacco and nicotine use in society and ultimately save lives.” 

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office  have shown that about 18% of the Irish population still smoke. 

The figures come after it was reported that the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme has turned away people who vape but want to quit. 

The programme which was created in 2016 as part of the Healthy Ireland in the Health Services Implementation Plan, aiming to reducing the number of people who smoke. 

On the refusals, the head of the HSE’s Tobacco Free Ireland Programme, Martina Blake said: “We do not have capacity to deliver stop vaping care and are not resourced to do so.” 

These new rules come as the government has been imposing stricter restrictions on the use and selling of nicotine products such as vapes. 

The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 introduced a range of measures including a ban on the sale of nicotine vapes to under-18s. 

This ban also banned the advertising of vape products in cinemas, in or within 200 metres of a school, on public transport and in taxis. 

The new measures are a part of the government's plan to ban single use vapes as approved by the Cabinet with draft laws by then Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly, however the proposed laws have not yet been brought to the Oireachtas.