Ireland’s Taoiseach has been accused of dangerously misleading smokers after claiming vapes are “nearly worse than cigarettes” and signalling support for an outright ban.
Micheál Martin’s comments contradict the latest evidence from Cochrane, widely regarded as the gold standard for independent medical evidence.
Cochrane’s latest review, published on August 26, found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes help more people quit smoking than traditional nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) such as patches and gum.
Yet Mr Martin said this week that “vapes are nearly worse than cigarettes”, described them as the “revenge of Big Tobacco” and indicated his support for dealing with them “in as strong a manner as possible”, including a potential outright ban.
Smoke Free Sweden leader Dr Delon Human said:
“These comments are truly unhelpful because they risk convincing smokers that switching away from cigarettes offers little or no health benefit. That is simply not what the evidence says.
“The Taoiseach’s claims ignore the latest findings from Cochrane, the world’s gold-standard authority on medical evidence. Cochrane has just confirmed with high certainty that nicotine vapes help more smokers quit than traditional nicotine-replacement therapy.
“To suggest that vaping is nearly worse than smoking is not based on sound science. More worryingly for consumers, it perpetuates the misconception that smokeless nicotine delivery systems are as dangerous as cigarettes. This could deter smokers from making a switch that may save their lives.”
The Cochrane review examined 80 studies involving 29,861 adult smokers and found people using nicotine vapes were up to 67% more likely to quit successfully than those using NRT.
Cochrane’s researchers have also stressed that regulated nicotine vapes expose users to far fewer harmful chemicals than combustible cigarettes.
Dr Human, a specialist family physician and former secretary-general of the World Medical Association, added:
“Children should not vape and strong age restrictions should be enforced. But protecting young people does not justify frightening adult smokers away from substantially less harmful alternatives.
“Cigarettes remain the overwhelming source of smoking-related death and disease. The priority must be to help smokers stop inhaling smoke.
“An outright vape ban would simply remove one of the most effective alternatives available to people trying to escape them. Ireland’s leaders should follow the science, not rhetoric.”
Photo copyright: © European Union, 1998 – 2026, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
