Medical assistance sought for Kildare children after purchasing vaping products - claim

A number of parents in Naas, Co Kildare have had to seek medical assistance for their children after they allegedly purchased vaping products from outlets in the town, an Independent Ireland councillor has claimed.

According to Cllr Bill Clear, there has been a proliferation in the number of 'pop-up' vaping shops in Naas recently, with some unscrupulous owners allegedly selling vaping products to minors.

Cllr Clear, who is on the board of a Naas secondary school parents' council, told KildareNow this week that principals have contacted him directly with their concerns.

“Last week I was also contacted by a number of parents whose children who had gone into these shops, aged 15, and were able to purchase vapes referred to as “weed vapes.” I don't know exactly what that means, but the meaning is in the word itself”, Cllr Clear says.

“They got very very ill, and had to have medical attention, and some of them are still quite ill.

“My issue is, I understand that vapes are there for a reason, as an alternative for tobacco, but there's two issues. One, there appears to be a big uptake in children being able to purchase these who are underage.

“Secondly, what they're being sold is not just tobacco, it's other components that are unknown to people.

“A young person's brain is not able to process these types of chemicals into their head. Doctors have highlighted the danger of these products, and there's over 2000 chemicals in them, and they are seeing young people and teenagers coming into them with serious respiratory problems.”

READ NEXT: No plans for this Kildare Municipal District to live stream KCC meetings

Cllr Clear says that another concern is that many of these vaping outlets “have the look of a toy shop or sweet shop”, with owners, he says, deliberately targeting children and teenagers.

He says a Facebook video he posted on the issue gained a huge amount of traction online, such is the concern in Naas over the problem.

Cllr Clear says he has spoken with a number of vape shop owners, who he says claim that no-one under the age of 18 is being sold vaping products.

“I think the proper vape shops or pharmacies should be the only ones allowed to sell vapes, and that they are strictly licenced. It's very simple, we should have the same rules as we have for cigarettes, simple as.”

Cllr Clear has written to the Minister for Health requesting that regulations governing the sale of vaping products are severely tightened.

He has called for closure orders for vendors who supply vaping products to underage users, and says the same rules should apply to vaping stores as apply to food outlets, where transgressions of can result in severe penalties.

“I think the whole thing is too dangerous, I think parents are extremely worried and angry that it's come to this. I will do everything I can do, despite a lot of online abuse from people who should know better, to make sure that the same regulations apply as with tobacco.”

Legislation on the sale of vaping products goes before the Dáil today (Wednesday, April 22), with Independent Ireland due to put forward to the Minister the points Cllr Clear has raised.