By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
New legislation: Ireland has approved the publication of the Public Health Bill 2026, expanding regulation of vaping products and nicotine pouches.
Sales and marketing limits: The bill would ban pouch sales to minors, prohibit retail advertising and point-of-sale displays.
Flavor crackdown: Proposed rules would limit vape flavors to tobacco only and ban most flavor descriptors beyond basic names.
Ireland’s government has approved legislation aimed at tightening regulations on vaping products and emerging nicotine categories, including nicotine pouches.
The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026, approved for publication this week, introduces a variety of new restrictions on sales, marketing, packaging, and flavors for nicotine products.
Under the proposal, nicotine products such as nicotine pouches would be banned for sale to anyone under 18. The bill would also prohibit advertising of nicotine inhaling products like vapes and other nicotine items in retail settings and ban point-of-sale displays in mixed retail outlets.
Additional provisions would limit device and packaging design, including restricting colors and imagery, and banning devices that resemble or function like toys or games.
The bill also proposes new rules for product flavors. Flavor descriptors would be banned, allowing only basic flavor names, and flavors for nicotine inhaling products would be limited to tobacco.
Ireland’s Department of Health stated that the provisions addressing “novel nicotine products” are meant to be future-proof, meaning they would cover not only current market products but also any new nicotine formats that may develop.
Minister of Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill stated that the legislation is part of the government’s broader public health plan to decrease the promotion and availability of addictive nicotine products.
The bill now advances through Ireland’s legislative process, where lawmakers will debate the proposal as part of the country’s ongoing tobacco and nicotine control efforts.
