Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin called vapes “nearly worse than cigarettes” while urging tougher action at a Sept. 8 Fianna Fáil gathering in Tullamore, according to The Journal. The comparison blurs a distinction smokers need when considering alternatives: lower risk does not mean no risk. Martin also claimed that “we don’t know what’s in them.”
Ireland’s own Health Service Executive (HSE) offers a more qualified assessment. Its public guidance on vaping says vaping delivers nicotine with fewer toxins than cigarettes and may be less harmful. The HSE does not recommend vaping for smoking cessation and warns that it is not harmless. It also distinguishes nicotine vaping from products containing other drugs.
England’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities reached a stronger conclusion in its 2022 evidence review: vaping posed a small fraction of smoking’s risks in the short and medium term. The review found substantially lower exposure to several harmful substances, while acknowledging uncertainty about long-term risks. A 2024 Royal College of Physicians review also found lower exposure to many toxicants, although disease-specific biological measures produced mixed findings.
A meta-analysis published Feb. 17 in Public Health Reports, led by longtime vaping critic and tobacco-control researcher Stanton Glantz, reached a less reassuring conclusion. Its authors argued that some disease associations were indistinguishable from or approached those of smoking. It nevertheless found lower odds for several outcomes, including stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It’s crucial to note that three-quarters of its estimates came from cross-sectional studies, snapshots that cannot establish whether vaping preceded disease.
A separate Irish warning concerned cannabinoid products. In an Aug. 19 laboratory alert, the HSE reported testing 76 vapes and liquids obtained from shops and the illicit market. Among the samples, sometimes with multiple substances detected, 28 contained HHC or related compounds, eight contained potent synthetic cannabinoids, and 41 contained CBD. The HSE said some products sold as CBD or THC alternatives contained HHC or synthetic cannabinoids.
That alert identified a drug-safety problem, not a comparison between regulated nicotine vaping and cigarette smoking. The laboratory investigates substances of concern; its findings do not establish how common contamination is across the nicotine-vape market. They cannot establish that compliant nicotine e-liquids are nearly as harmful as cigarettes, either.
Nor are manufacturers simply exempt from ingredient disclosure. Under Article 20 of the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive, manufacturers and importers must notify authorities six months before marketing nicotine vaping products. Notifications must include ingredients and quantities, emissions information, and toxicological data. Those requirements do not guarantee that every product complies or make notification a declaration of safety.
Ireland holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union through Dec. 31, giving its government a role in steering European legislative work. Protecting consumers from dangerous drug products and giving smokers accurate information are compatible goals. Treating every vape as the same exposure does neither.
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