Vaping and e-cigarettes (short for e-cigarette): what to do to beat the Irish smoking ban? In case you’ve never heard of “vaping,” it’s the high-tech alternative to smoking; It works with batteries and uses a water vapor to inhale the nicotine. And it has become immensely popular in Ireland due to the Irish smoking ban and, in large part, due to a legal definition that left loopholes. So the question is … are you allowed to vape where you are not allowed to smoke?
Vaping and Irish law
When Ireland enacted a law banning smoking in public places, lawmakers wanted to be precise. Too precise, as it turned out. What worked in traffic (where “holding a mobile phone” is a crime, not “using a mobile phone”) did not work in bars, pubs, etc. because the law prohibits smoking tobacco.
Did you see what they did there? The technically precise definition excluded herbal cigarettes (which became popular overnight, especially among people who wanted to “resist”) and what are known as e-cigarettes, electronic devices that do not produce smoke. No smoking, no smoking.
Now we have vaping. Heat, water, and nicotine (plus a variety of flavorings) are combined in the e-cigarette, giving the non-smoker yet vaper the opportunity to breathe vapor instead of smoke into their lungs and then exhale the same thing again.
This technical solution to satisfy the craving for nicotine is not covered by the Irish smoking ban, therefore it cannot be illegal.
Vaping and the environment
Now, in effect, vaping is a lot like smoking minus the ash and cigarette butts. From a distance, you just can’t decide if someone is smoking or vaping. The difference between a cloud of smoke and a cloud of vapor around you? Well, we’ll have to take a closer look and smell.
As soon as you get closer, you will notice that the vapor, unlike smoke, does not linger. That is simple physics. When you’re smoking, tiny ash particles are released into the air and settle as fine dust over time, without completely disappearing. In the case of vaping, what you are producing is actually vapor, a mixture of very fine liquid particles and air. And those liquid particles will dissipate quickly, mainly due to changes in temperature.
The thing is, those little bottles of vaping liquids not only contain water, but they also contain nicotine (usually the only reason people keep smoking as nicotine is an addictive drug) and various scents to mimic a brand of your favorite cigarettes or ice cream glades from Iceland.
So anyone who smokes Marlboro will, in all likelihood, vape something that comes in a bottle with a little cowboy image on it because it “tastes similar.” The hype works and people are vaporizing anything from the scent of saddle soap paired with masculine sweat to something akin to strawberry jam.
And here’s the catch: if someone vapes near you, they’re forced to experience the same smell. Which is similar to someone with garlic breath speaking to you from a small distance. Or someone who showered in Chanel No. 5 sitting half a meter away. You smell it, and if you don’t like it, you will hate it. It’s okay for some, annoying for others, and often the vaping flavor mix clashes.
Vaping and health
But smells are not illegal. So can it harm your health? Except perhaps the trigger for nausea or a possible allergic reaction? The honest answer is that nobody knows. While the negative effects of smoking are proven, the effects of active or passive vaping are still unknown.
Manufacturers and sellers of e-cigarettes and vaping paraphernalia insist that this is a healthy alternative to smoking, mainly because it removes ash, tar, etc. Look, it’s just clear vapor with some additives. It does not matter that at least one of the additives is a dependency-inducing drug. And, according to the claim, it can even be used to help smokers quit, although the presence of nicotine means that it is doubtful that anyone would stop vaping.
And as for the negative health effects? Smoking was not considered unhealthy not long ago until clinical data showed us a different picture. Vaping is new, so any long-term effects would be terra incognita at this point, any claim that there are no long-term effects is a bold lie (simply because something is said that, because the ‘long term’ does not exists at all, can’t be proved).
Cut to the chase: does the Irish smoking ban prohibit vaping?
It does not Period.
But as soon as you enter “premises” (enclosed spaces, private land, etc.), not only the law of the land applies, but also the law established by the owner of the premises. So if, for example, a store owner doesn’t want you to vape, they have the right to ask you to stop or leave their store.
And here begins the true ban on vaping. There is a tendency to ban vaping in more and more areas. The Blanchardstown Shopping Center was one of the first retail centers to do so. Other companies that ban e-cigarettes are Irish Rail, Bus Éireann, and Dublin Bus. And now there is a blanket ban on e-cigarettes and vaping in effect for all buildings and land owned by the Health Service Executive.
The bottom line is that vaping is legal in Ireland unless a venue owner makes it clear that they don’t want you to vape.
