The debate playing out may be about health and the environment as with smoking, but unlike dour, mainly white cigarettes, vapes come in bright colours with names like Banoffi Pie or Fantasi Ice Orange.

Aimed initially at those trying to quit smoking, they’re now very popular among teens, even those who never smoked.

By law they contain a lower level of nicotine than cigarettes, and come in rechargeable or (controversially) disposable forms.

This week the HSE issued a recall alert around two types of e-cigarette saying they contained more than the legally permitted level of nicotine. The products “pose a serious risk to public safety”, it said.

HSE's Tobacco Free Ireland Programme public health medicine lead, Dr Paul Kavanagh, points out that e-cigarettes are consumer products, not medical products.

“They are not like using a nicotine-replacement gum or a spray or a lozenge where there are all of the safety systems behind all of that," he said. 

He has concerns too about who is producing and selling e-cigarettes.

A lot of the companies who produce e-cigarettes, when you trace them back, are part of larger conglomerates that are owned by the tobacco industry. That is always a bit worrying. 

He points to wider problems, There are 100 people dying every week in Ireland from tobacco-related causes and Irish research shows teens who use vapes are more likely to take up smoking.

Widespread availability 

“I am worried that we have started to lose the tight grip we had on tobacco control in Ireland,” he warns.

At a vaping shop in Ennis, Co Clare, owner Joanne O’Connell says the focus on teens is obscuring how e-cigarettes can help adults.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” she says. “Speaking for my own shop, since we opened our doors we have never sold to anybody under-18. I’ve always asked for ID.” 

Co-founder of the Irish Vape Vendors Association, she argues widespread sales of e-cigarettes outside of dedicated shops is the problem.

“Especially nowadays, people are stocking disposables in random shops. We work so hard on it, on setting up this code for vendors that seeing under-18s being able to purchase them is extremely frustrating,” she says.

Ms O'Connell describes herself as an ex-smoker who quit using vaping, and says: “That definitely gets lost, and it’s such a shame. These products aren’t meant for children, they’re meant for people who are smoking as an alternative, a healthier, safer alternative.” 

She does not accept the colourful packaging or flavours are only for children: “When the industry first started there definitely weren’t children using these devices, and there were still these flavours around. I have customers who are in their 70s and even 80s who use these flavoured liquids.” 

In her experience, former smokers want to move away from the smell or taste of tobacco and are unlikely to use tobacco-flavoured vapes.

The Irish Heart Foundation, however, is pushing for even more stringent controls. Advocacy manager for tobacco and environmental health Mark Murphy says their concerns are health and eco-based.

“Nicotine can have an effect on the development of the brain in adolescence,” he says. 

Also there is a huge environmental impact from disposable e-cigarettes. They contain lithium, other metals and people just dispose of them on the street.

He also points out that disposable e-cigarettes are targeted at young people.

Interest in these side-effects seem to be growing, with a petition to ban disposable vapes mainly for environmental reasons reaching 2,700 signatures on Uplift.

Organised by eco-charity Voice, it argues “harmful waste materials, such as mercury and cadmium, is being leached into our environment, negatively impacting human health and biodiversity".  

So what is happening abroad? in Australia it is illegal to buy, possess or use liquid nicotine for vaping without a prescription, with nicotine classed as a ’dangerous poison’ as with arsenic.

Closer to home the Netherlands has banned e-cigarettes with flavours other than tobacco from July 1. Belgium is also clamping down with measures including packaging restrictions and a ban on vending machine sales.

Health Scotland does not ignore vaping in advice around quitting smoking, but says: “The effectiveness of e-cigarettes compared with stop-smoking medications is mixed.” 

University College Cork chemistry professor John Sodeau thinks Ireland could look at the new New Zealand model which includes prescription-only vaping for adults and plans for a smoke-free younger generation. 

An expert in air pollution, he says a key issue is how little is known about the long-terms effects of vaping. 

“In the 1940s tobacco, believe it or not, was thought to be a health benefit because it would calm the nerves. We have learned a lot since then,” he says. 

“Now it’s about 20 years for e-cigarettes and vaping, and there hasn’t been a long enough time span really to check what the actual outcomes are.” 

He points to conflicting research on quitting smoking via vaping, and says: “In a way we don’t need any more research. It’s just common sense to say I don’t want someone doing the equivalent of sneezing in my face, which is what vaping is.” 

The new Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill bans the sale of all nicotine-inhaling products to under-18s.

Government consultation on the environmental impact of disposable vapes is open until July 27 and can be accessed online.