INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM ON SUNDAY

The UUP At a low ebb or in terminal decline?

February 10-11, 2019 businesspost.ie Price £2.00 New columnist Deirdre Heenan

page 19 HARRY’S CAFÉ Crosbie faces BREXIT fight to keep ROAD TRIP coffee kiosks in A border communitypages 6-7 case on the edge page 5

pages 10-11 Labour leader pushes Vaping government access dilemma for Big Tobacco firms Just how ● Howlin and FG’s Noone among politicians canvassed by industry safe is it? ● Cigarette giants anxious to influence anti-smoking initiatives Post Plus, page 1-3 BY BARRY J WHYTE to loosen Ireland’s practice meet with them. They argued for your officials to blankly of not meeting with tobacco that their input could help to refuse to meet with industries Leading tobacco firms have companies, a policy that is en- save money by avoiding mi- that they are regulating, even ramped up their lobbying of dorsed by the World Health nor regulatory errors. to discuss the technical details senior politicians across the Organisation (WHO). On January 21, a week after of that regulation”. political spectrum, recently Howlin — who introduced the meeting, Howlin wrote to Howlin added: “Lobbying convincing leader the Regulation of Lobbying Minister for Finance Pascal and meetings with officials Brendan Howlin to call on the Act in 2015 — received a brief- Donohoe. In his email, he is a normal part of any dem- government to meet them to ing note from his political di- pointed out that “while Labour ocratic political system. The discuss anti-smoking policies. rector on January 14, outlining is no supporter of that industry, whole point of the Regulation Last month, two giant cig- how the two companies felt I am bringing it to your atten- of Lobbying Act is to make arette-makers, Japan Tobacco “prejudiced” against by the tion in your capacity as head of sure those meetings are open and Imperial Brands, lobbied “blank” refusal of govern- the civil service, to ask wheth- and transparent, to prevent Howlin as part of their goal ment officials and ministers to er you think it is appropriate to page 2 SET IN STONE? Michael Murray and Ian Guider on CRH page 15

Pigsback sale to Crackdown on state English firm nets pensions nets €15 €25 million million for exchequer BY COLETTE SEXTON BY MICHAEL BRENNAN tained from the Department had lost their means-tested Last week’s sale of Irish POLITICAL EDITOR of Social Protection under pension due to the reviews. firm Pigsback.com to an the Freedom of Information “I think it’s wrong. There English travel group was Thousands of partners of Act show that up to 6,000 has been a hardening of the worth an estimated €25 state pensioners have had reviews were carried out last social welfare system under million. their pensions reduced or year on people getting partial this government,” he said. The deal is one of the cut off completely as part of pensions. The briefing documents largest transactions by a new crackdown which has The crackdown has brought state that “Revenue data” has any Irish e-commerce brought in €15 million. in €15.7 million so far, with been used to identify people firm so far this year. Social welfare inspectors what the department calls on partial pensions “whose Empathy Marketing, are targeting up to 66,000 ‘adult dependents’ having annual earnings exceed the which runs Pigsback. people – mainly women - their half-pensions reduced means limits”. com, was sold to Brit- who get a partial pension or cut off completely. O’Dea said the reviews ish-based online travel while their partner gets a full “The majority of savings were reducing the pensions deals company Secret state contributory pension. (75 per cent) arise where the of spouses and partners who Escapes Group. They are checking tax re- means of the adult dependent had savings of €30,000 or Empathy Marketing has cords, bank interest payments are deemed to be over the €40,000 in their bank ac- grown sales by more than and property registration da- income limit for payment,” counts. 200 per cent since 2016. tabases to see if these failed to the department documents “All the computer systems It had revenues of €5.7 declare any extra income in stated. are talking to each other. million two years ago, their original pension means Fianna Fáil social welfare There’s no element of dis- with operating profits of test. spokesman Willie O’Dea said cretion,” he said. €1 million. Briefing documents ob- he had dealt with people who to page 2 Full story: page 3

Vol. 32. No. 06 TOM McGURK: Could Irish America save the backstop? page 18 The Sunday Business Post 2 News February 10, 2019

In this MAGAZINE PROPERTY PLUS week’s Dream home paper Pressure cooker The truth about keeping an Irish in Monkstown restaurant in business pages 10-14 This Victorian residence might tempt one to go out and buy a lottery ticket Cover story

NEWS SUNDAY POST PLUS INTERVIEW Liam Neeson Ken Mealy, president of the How Hollywood was horrified Royal College of Surgeons by a leading man’s outburst page 16 Profile, page 12

State auditor contradicts Who will blink first in Varadkar over claim on latest Brexit stand-off? Children’s Hospital costs l Chief procurement officer Paul struction to seek a derogation l ’s together and does not want from normal state contract to be remembered like for- Quinn under scrutiny in debacle rules as it was such a large government mer British prime minister project. Ramsay McDonald. He split over spiralling costs for National “Members of the board is banking on his Labour party when he Children’s Hospital made two formal presen- Theresa May not went into a national govern- tations during the course ment with the Tories during of the development of their allowing Britain the Great Depression in 1931 BY HUGH O’CONNELL In the Dáil last week, procurement strategy, and to spiral into a and ended up being expelled POLITICAL Varadkar indicated that Quinn a number of meetings with from Labour. CORRESPONDENT would not have had respon- individual members of the no-deal Brexit. Belgian MEP sibility to report the matter to committee to discuss de- Philippe Lamberts said that The state’s auditor has cast Donohoe. tailed aspects of the strat- But with seven May and British Labour leader doubt over Leo “If somebody is on a board, egy and contract were also weeks to go, it’s Jeremy Corbyn were playing a Varadkar’s claim that a se- his or her fiduciary and legal held,” Quinn wrote, adding “mirror game” because they nior civil servant on the Na- responsibilities are to that that a derogation did not ap- a risky game - as were trying to keep their par- tional Children’s Hospital board and the correct line prove the strategy but mere- May could be ties united on Brexit. board could not have raised of accountability is from the ly acknowledged that the “Jeremy Corbyn is perform- concerns about cost overruns chairman of that board to the project required a different waiting out the ing a game that looks very like with Minister for Finance Pas- line minister, not individu- approach. the game of Theresa May. ‘I’m chal Donohoe. al board members acting on However, he did not dis- clock as well a Brexiteer, but I want Brexit Comptroller and Auditor their own part,” he said. close in the letter to PAC that to embarrass the Tories. I want General Seamus McCarthy Labour health spokesman he is also a member of the BY MICHAEL BRENNAN to keep the unity of my party confirmed last week his un- said it was now NPHDB. POLITICAL EDITOR while dividing the Tories.’ And derstanding that a Depart- “quite obvious” from what the PAC chairman Seán Flem- that’s the exact mirror game ment of Finance circular, C&AG said that the Quinn was ing said in committee: “There The government is continu- of Theresa May,” he said. which obliges officials on subject to the circular. is a clear conflict of interest ing to rely on British prime Leo Varadkar greets Theresa May at Farmleigh House on Friday night Maxwells Lamberts, a member of the non-commercial state boards “So what the Taoiseach said between the two positions, minister Theresa May blinking European Parliament’s Brexit to report to the relevant Minis- in the Dáil is bogus and wrong, given the derogation, his be- before she pushes her country the government’s position af- the government’s hope is that ster, just blindly going about steering group, said this was ter “where a matter of serious and he needs to correct that,” ing a member of the board into a no-deal Brexit. ter Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s May will at least be forced to it. The more the government preventing any coalition of concern arises”, did apply in said Kelly. and his being on both sides Government sources say round of meetings last week postpone it by asking the EU ignore what the people are Conservative and Labour MPs the case of the National Pae- “Also, the Minister for of that debate. What I find there is no option but to with May in the state-owned to extend the Article 50 exit saying, the more frustrated from uniting on a soft Brexit. diatric Hospital Development Public Expenditure needs to more disturbing is that he did continue with the strategy of Farmleigh House in Dublin’s process. Varadkar has repeat- people are getting,” she said. He said there was no ques- Board (NPHDB). explain why the most senior not inform this committee of insisting on the retention of Phoenix Park, European Com- edly said that the British gov- Cassidy said she believed tion of the EU dropping its Paul Quinn, the state’s procurement officer who was this. He should have at least the backstop – the guarantee mission president Jean-Claude ernment can avoid a no-deal that May’s strategy was to wait support for the Irish back- chief procurement officer, sitting on the board wasn’t re- highlighted it.” there will be no hard border Juncker in Brussels and DUP hard Brexit either by revoking out the clock till March 29. stop because that could open has come under scrutiny in porting very serious issues to Quinn has said he is willing on the island when Britain leader Arlene Foster in Belfast. its withdrawal notice under “If she waits out the clock a 500-kilometre “back door” the debacle over the hospi- his secretary general and to to come before the commit- leaves on March 29. But with just seven weeks Article 50 of the EU Treaty and there’s a no-deal, then to the EU single market on the tal’s spiralling costs, after it him.” tee, where he is likely to face There has been no shift in to go till the departure date, or by seeking an extension they leave and that’s it. Her Irish border. emerged he was a member Quinn wrote to the Public questions over why he did not to Article 50. main priority for better or “What the hard Brexiteers of the board responsible for Accounts Committee (PAC) inform Donohoe or Depart- Dr Jennifer Cassidy, who worse is arriving at that March are really asking us is to re- the hospital project but did last month to outline the ment of Finance officials of lectures in politics at the Uni- 29 deadline. She’s not going nounce the single market. not alert Donohoe to the es- Office of Government Pro- the escalating overruns with versity of Oxford, said British to be the prime minister who Goods produced with stan- calating overrun. curement’s “limited role” in the hospital project prior to people were just as frustrated failed to deliver the referen- dards that do not match those Quinn is also facing ques- procurement arrangements them finding out last No- at the lack of progress as Irish dum mandate,” she said. of the EU will freely enter the tions over his failure to dis- for the hospital. vember. people were. “People keep May has been telling col- EU market. Do they think we close his membership of the He wrote that the NPHDB Donohoe has maintained expressing the word ‘shame’. leagues that she wants to are stupid enough to allow NPHDB to the Public Accounts engaged the government’s he was not aware of the proj- They’re ashamed of Westmin- keep the Conservative Party that to happen?” Committee last month. contacts committee for con- ect overrun until November. HELPING BUSINESSES Crackdown on pensions NAVIGATE BREXIT Labour leader Howlin pushes nets the exchequer €15m from page 1 thirds of the state contributory government access for Big Tobacco Spouses and partners of a per- pensions are going to men, son on a state contributory which is why women are from page 1 of e-cigarettes may lead to company. pension can get a maximum believed to make up most of undue or unknown influence new use by people who have When contacted by The pension of €218 per week. the 66,000 ‘adult dependents’ on public policy from any never smoked, later migration Sunday Business Post, Noone They have to pass a means test who are getting means-tested business or group. As long as to tobacco cigarettes, long- said: “Since my election to the by showing their own income partial pensions. the provisions of the law are term nicotine dependency, Seanad, I have consistently is under €100 per week. They The crackdown was being adhered to, there is no and other potential and as yet advocated in the area of public can get a reduced pension if sparked by a review of the reason why officials should unknown harms”. health. I have engaged with their income is between €100 state contributory pension refuse to meet with any lob- However, lobbying filings all sides of the argument on and €310 per week. Savings, in 2017 which found that byist.” for the last three years show many public health issues. It shares and property other the partial pensions paid to However, the Irish govern- that several major interna- is part of my job as a public than the family home are partners and spouses were the ment adheres to WHO tobac- tional tobacco companies representative to actively seek counted in the means test. “highest risk category”. The co control guidelines which have launched extensive lob- out as much information as Partners with their own in- fraud and error rate among recommend that countries bying campaigns on vaping, possible on any issue before come of more than €310 per these pensions amounted to should protect their tobacco sending hundreds of emails to thanks for her public com- arriving at a decision.” week do not get any pension. 13 per cent, versus 0.3 per policies from “commercial and holding dozens of meet- ments on vaping. “In recent weeks, I have The department has been cent for the state contribu- and other vested interests”, ings with Irish TDs, senators Noone has also met with tried to begin a conversation. sending out letters to people tory pension. and Irish ministers generally and MEPs, in which they insist lobbyists for Philip Morris, My sole interest is in reducing getting partial pensions re- Around €4 million of the decline to take meetings with on the health benefits of their has taken a phone call from the amount of people smok- quiring them to confirm in €15.7 million generated by the tobacco lobbyists. vaping products. Japan Tobacco International, ing in this country. My prior- writing that they have not review so far is due to the de- The ramping-up of the to- The campaigns have in- and met with representatives ity is health and exploring all any undeclared extra in- tection of pension payments bacco industry’s efforts to get cluded direct lobbying by of Vape Business Ireland. measures that can improve come. They are being told to to spouses and partners who TransferMate are a global B2B platform access to the policy-making Japan Tobacco International, She is not alone. Her party people’s health. retain any documentary ev- had died. Social welfare in- helping importers & exporters across process comes in parallel with Philip Morris, Imperial Tobac- colleague Noel Rock has also Rock, when contacted, said: idence for four years because spectors found this was a par- the globe to send and receive a major push by its lobbyists to co and British American To- met with PJ Carroll and had “As a TD, I meet with many a sample of these cases will be ticular problem for pension international business payments have vaping and e-cigarettes bacco, as well as campaigns by a phone conversation with groups who request meetings. “more intensively reviewed”. payments being made abroad included as part of Ireland’s local lobbying organisations Japan Tobacco. Their fellow I believe it’s worthwhile to ap- A Department of Social Pro- “as delayed or non- notifi- faster and at a lower cost. anti-smoking policy. which count those compa- Fine Gaelers , proach things with an open tection spokeswoman said it cation of deaths was found At the moment, the HSE nies among their members, and Jerry Buttim- mind, especially new things intended to carry out 6,500 of to be the greatest risk”. They Save your business money by speaking does not advocate the use of including the Irish Tobacco er have also met or had phone like this.” the reviews this year. checked the death records in with our team today. e-cigarettes or vaping in its Manufacturers’ Advisory calls with tobacco companies. “While e-cigarettes are not “The rate of payment may the civil registration service Tobacco Free Ireland policy. Committee and Vape Busi- Independent TD Kevin my cup of tea, and the evi- change (up or down) depend- here and the pension records The organisation says that a ness Ireland. ‘Boxer’ Moran and John Paul dence is neither long-term ing on the adult dependant’s held by the US and Australian Health Information and Qual- Some politicians have been Phelan held meetings with or decisive, I see no harm in current means following their authorities. That led to the ter- Contact our team: ity Authority (Hiqa) evalua- lobbied several times by to- Philip Morris before being ap- commissioning further re- review,” she said. mination of payments to 243 T: 01 887 28 20 tion had led them to advise the bacco companies, including pointed as junior ministers, search . . . and exploring the The crackdown will not af- pensioners who were found E: [email protected] minister that e-cigarettes’ “ef- senator Catherine the lobbying filings show. Fi- effectiveness of these tools fect people claiming the state to have died. The department www.transfermate.com/payments fectiveness as a smoking ces- Noone, who has met with anna Fail TDs Bobby Aylward in the ongoing push to cut contributory pension, as they is sending letters to all part- Interpay Ltd trading as TransferMate is regulated by sation aid was uncertain”, and representatives of PJ Carroll (Carlow-Kilkenny) and Mary smoking rates and incidences have already established their ners of people living abroad the Central Bank of Ireland that “there are also concerns three times and, on one oc- Butler (Waterford) have also of associated illnesses.” entitlement to it through PRSI and are cutting off payments that the social normalisation casion, received an email of met with the controversial See Post Plus, cover story contributions. Around two where there is no reply. TheSunday Business Post February 10, 2019 businesspost.ie Jill Kerby Our new columnist on how to solve Post Plus the nurses’ strike ● MONEY ● MARKETS ● MOTORS page 5

Long touted as the alternative to smoking, vaping is now coming under attack from observers who insist that it carries health dangers of its own. And all the while, Big Tobacco waits patiently in the wings The vape of things to come?

By Barry J Whyte

ou step outside, coffee or tea in your hand, and brace yourself against the cold. You pull out the small box, olive green these days, and flick the little tab of cellophane on the side with your fingernail and rip it all the Yway round the lid. The cellophane makes a tiny crinkling sound as you pull it off and scrunch it up and squeeze it between the holes in the grid of the outdoor ashtray. You flip the lid of the pack, listening for the soft snap of the cardboard. Your finger searches for the loosest one, you pull it out, and it makes a tiny sound like someone hushing you in a library. You grip it between your lips and light it. might burn your throat, or it actively sickens A tiny flicker of heat and a flash of smell: you, or you let the wind smoke it while you slightly oily if you use a lighter, more sul- chat on the phone or to your smoking buddy. phurous if it’s matches. You close your eyes, Forget about sales taxes, plain packaging, probably, and inhale deeply. patches, chewing gum or cold turkey. None of That’s it. That’s all you need. By now, you’ve them can replace the ritual. It’s that process done the thing you want to do. More often — a comforting little rhythm and sequence than not, the cigarette is a disappointment. It to page 2 The Sunday Business Post February 10, 2019 2 Business Insight Post Plus

Vape shops are springing up all over the country, but the actual impacts of the practice are, as yet, unknown Maura Hickey Smoking a cigarette is like sticking a lump of coal in your ‘‘mouth, lighting it up, and blowing out black, sooty smoke. But vaping is like sneezing into someone’s face, spraying a jet of tiny water droplets into Keith Flynn and Stuart Fagan, their lungs co-owners of Hale Vaping Picture: Fergal Phillips

from page 1 and he produces 200,000 bottles of the brain. It is a drug,” Crown says. of hand gestures ending in a satisfying’’ stuff every month. “The alternative is a less dangerous sigh, practically a communion of prayer He’s not alone. There is an entire indus- drug delivery system, the same way that and incense-burning all in one — per- try growing up in Ireland around vaping, methadone might be a reasonable way formed routinely at several points during and McGrath estimates that around one to get off intravenous drugs.” the day and particularly at moments of million bottles are sold here every month. There’s an argument for supervised high stress. One of his rivals in the market is Keith use of vaping products as a smoking What’s the most addictive thing about Flynn, who is one of the shareholders in, cessation mechanism, Crown believes, smoking? It sure ain’t the nicotine. and a director of, Hale Vaping, perhaps but the idea of leaving them loosely reg- If you’re trying to quit, that’s the thing the best-known high street presence in ulated and open for recreational use is, he you’ll miss: the moment. The physiolog- vaping with 55 stores nationwide. says, clearly a bad idea. “I’m troubled by ical effect of nicotine is imperceptible, For Flynn, vaping is the best way for the suggestion that vaping is somehow unlike drinking beer or a cup of coffee. Ireland to achieve its target of a tobac- harmless.” It’s the psychological effect of the ritual, co-free Ireland by 2025. and the time of day it happens, that most “On the current quit rate, that date ]]] smokers crave. will have to be revised to 2052, which is Into this gap has come vaping: a range scary. Britain took a similar view at the n spite of this scientific and regulato- of devices of varying sizes and designs same time, but the NHS has embraced ry vacuum, the push behind vaping that use a small heated coil to vaporise vaping as an alternative. They’ll achieve continues unabated. Just last week, a liquid that contains nicotine and other the tobacco-free goal by 2025, maybe for example, Fine Gael senator Cath- flavourings. All the taste, none of the tar, even before, and they’re accrediting it Ierine Noone came out to advocate greater and far closer to mimicking that ritual to embracing vaping.” use of vaping as a quitting tool to help than anything that’s come before. As such, Flynn is keen to point out that Ireland meet its non-smoking targets. It ought to be a perfect cure for smok- his customers are coming in because of Her talking points – that it’s an excel- ing, but the debate is more complicated “pressure from home, or advice from a lent smoking-cessation tool, that it would than that. doctor or a GP” and that their staff are help Ireland reach its tobacco-free tar- For starters, many critics argue that given cards at Christmas with customers gets, and that Britain had done so already the health benefits of vaping have been telling them how much better they feel with some success – mirrored largely overstated, while others doubt the bona and how much money they’ve saved. the vaping industry’s own views on the fides of Big Tobacco, which has come late He believes that the government subject. to the game, but has managed to throw should simply give everyone the facts, Noone has been the subject of signifi- millions – maybe billions – into develop- and pointed out that the state’s an- John Sodeau and John Wenger, chemists at University College Cork, argue that vaping can be harmful Cathal Noonan cant lobbying on this issue. Over the last ing its own vast array of devices, liquids ti-smoking website – Quit.ie – doesn’t two years, she has met with representa- and non-burning tobacco products. have any information on vaping. tives of PJ Carroll three times, received All of which means that, as the scale Both men know there are manufactur- of studies over the last five years alone precisely the health effects of vaping. an email of thanks for her comments on of the market balloons, vaping remains ers outside Ireland which don’t adhere to that have either concluded that the data Smoking tobacco’s been around for 5,000 vaping and taken a phone call about the an unknown quantity. the regulatory and production standards is insufficient, or made negative findings years, and it’s only around 20 or 30 years firm’s latest e-cigarettes news, according that he and Flynn do. McGrath points to about the impacts of vaping. since we’ve begun to think that there’s to the lobbying register. ]]] a picture of several brands of e-juice that In 2014, for example, the journal To- health problem,” says Wenger. She has also met with lobbyists for bear similarities to well-known brands: bacco Control published a summary of “E-cigarettes have only been around Philip Morris, has taken a phone call illian McGrath used to be a Mors, in the branding of a Mars bar; Airo, the medical and scientific articles that 15 years, so you can’t really expect to be from Japan Tobacco International, and property developer and a in the branding of an Aero bar; Tripleone, had been published up to that point, and in a state of full knowledge. We may have met with representatives of Vape Busi- smoker. When the economy apeing the design of a Toblerone pack; outlined their findings. to wait another decade or two before ness Ireland. crashed he, like plenty of other a product called Cocak-Cola; and one The conclusions were stark. There some of these longer-term effects can be Noone is by no means alone. In her Kproperty developers, found himself with called Capri-Con, in the bright blue and were, it pointed out, “limited data on the measured. The question must arise – do own party, for example, several of her a great deal more spare time on his hands. orange packaging of Capri-Sun. effects of recurrent long-term exposures you want to treat these things as innocent colleagues have met multiple times with That spare time was filled by smoking. Those products are not made in Ireland to aerosolised nicotine, flavourings and until proven guilty, or Napoleonic code, Big Tobacco or its proxies, such as Noel “I suppose after the collapse and when and not currently available in Ireland, PG [propylene glycol, a component of guilty until proven innocent?” Rock, Colm Burke and Bernard Durkan. everything went to crap, I was on 50 or Flynn says – the picture was taken in a the aerosol in e-cigarettes]”. It’s a view shared by Professor John It’s a reflection of just how many lob- 60 a day. I could feel it. I knew they were store in Manchester – but the intent was More than that, it wasn’t clear how Crown, one of the country’s most bying avenues Big Tobacco has opened doing damage. I kept saying: ‘I have to clear, in his mind. much nicotine people were getting from high-profile consultant oncologists. up, and how much it has focused its en- give these things up’,” he says. “I see that as aimed at children,” he the variety of aerosol delivery systems, or Crown has in the past been linked to ergies on the issue of vaping. Patches hadn’t done it for him, nor says, children who might be drawn to whether there was a ‘learning curve’ for Professor John Crown: ‘We cannot say positive comments about vaping – last Philip Morris – the maker of Marlboro had chewing gum, but he bought his the familiar brands and alluring flavours. e-cigarette use – meaning people might for sure that vaping is safe’ year a publicity email sent out by an Irish as well as dozens of other products – first e-cigarette in the summer of 2011 The problem, McGrath says, is that the learn to use them differently and more company called VIP E-Cigarette quoted has met with multiple politicians and and took to it immediately. “I was get- more flavour compound that is dropped frequently than cigarettes. in which such products are advertised Crown heavily as saying that “vaping is representatives of the Revenue Com- ting the satisfaction of smoking without into the e-juice, the greater the risk of In 2017, the Journal of the American to teenagers. vastly less harmful than smoking” and missioners about what it describes as its smoking,” he says. “The throat hit and toxic chemicals. Heart Association published a study that Just last year, the journal Vascular Med- that “I would absolutely push for e-cig- “work in the area of potentially Reduced the chest hit; blowing out the vapour And for all the regulatory and pro- found “there is increasing evidence that icine went further, stating that there were arettes as a smoking cessation strategy”. Risk Products (RRPS)” which is “the without actually smoking.” duction standards he and Flynn have to e-cigarettes emit considerable levels “observed changes in peripheral and But he insists that these quotes do not term we use to refer to products with He hasn’t smoked since, and has be- adhere to – from ISO 9001 to HSE inspec- of toxicants, such as nicotine, volatile central blood pressure and also in pulse reflect his views. Granted, vaping is less the potential to reduce individual risk come an evangelist for vaping. Before tions to the Tobacco Products Directive organic compounds, and carbonyls, in wave velocity after smoking a cigarette as bad for you than smoking cigarettes, but and population harm in comparison to long, he turned it into a business. – there is a healthy trade of not-quite addition to releasing particulate matter” well as after vaping a nicotine-containing that’s in the context that “cigarette smok- smoking cigarettes”. It started when McGrath didn’t like the black market, but certainly low quality – and, thus, had the potential to harm electronic cigarette”. ing is about the worst thing a person can PJ Carroll, which is owned by British liquid he was buying – which he calls and lost cost e-juice products in discount both users and non-users alike. These findings, the researchers con- do in terms of increasing risk of cancer”, American Tobacco, has also lobbied to e-juice – and he wanted something with retailers across the country. That report stated that, “whether or cluded, “may be associated with an in- Crown says. “highlight the UK progressive approach a stronger tobacco flavour. So he went So while both insist on the value of va- not the levels of these toxicants are lower creased long-term cardiovascular risk”. “We cannot say for sure that vaping to e-cigarettes vs Ireland and the po- out and researched the 13 main tobac- ping as a tool to quit smoking, the wider than traditional smoking remains con- A press release associated with the is safe,” he says, pointing out that he tential role of e-cigarettes in achieving co flavours used by the main cigarette question remains unanswered: can we troversial”. It added that “recent studies paper stated that “the study has provided had in the past co-sponsored legislation Tobacco Free Ireland objectives”. companies, buying cigarettes to break actually say that vaping is safe? showed that e-cigarettes emitted chem- clear evidence of the potential cardiovas- that would have restricted vaping – the In emails to a number of TDs, the com- them up, crush the tobacco flakes, burn icals reach levels comparable to tobacco cular issues from acute e-cigarette use Public Health (Regulation of Electronic pany highlighted “the need for a debate them, smell them and try to identify their ]]] smoke, and those levels vary depending and diminishes the common thought Cigarettes) Bill 2015 – “much to the ir- on vaping by the Health Com- distinct aromas. on multiple factors, including types of that e-cigarettes are a lower risk than ritation of the industry”. mittee” and offered to share “Share BAT’s “Then I’d go to my 13 little drums [of ot according to University devices, e-liquid, vaping topography and tobacco products”. Crown acknowledges that, for some 2018 Harm Reduction Focus Report”. liquid containing the basic tobacco fla- College Cork chemists John vaping experience”. “At the moment, we don’t know people, “it would appear that vaping is PJ Carroll also sent a series of emails vours] and I would sniff each one and Wenger and John Sodeau. They The same year, a study by the Ameri- a good bridge to get off smoking onto to Irish politicians arguing,“it is vital that say, ‘There’s a bit of that in it,’ and I’d argue that while smoking a cig- can Thoracic Society’s American Journal something less harmful. The idea is to the government does not make e-ciga- go down the line, with maybe three or Narette is bad – they describe it as like of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine break the nicotine addiction cycle. How- rettes prohibitively expensive”. four combinations of tobacco in each sticking a lump of coal in your mouth, concluded that “E-cigarettes appear to ever, as long as you are vaping, there’s The company says the state’s failure one,” he says, describing his process of lighting it up, and blowing out black, trigger unique immune responses as well a chance you’ll relapse onto smoking”. to support the use of e-cigarettes was experimenting. sooty smoke – vaping is like sneezing as the same ones triggered by regular Even in the short time since his part of the reason “Ireland’s smoking “It was down to me to decipher which into someone’s face, spraying a jet of tiny cigarettes”. co-sponsored bill, research has devel- prevalence rate is 22 per cent”, and that cigarette was inside, and how much of water droplets into their lungs. It continued: “Although e-cigarette The ambition oped and further fleshed out the idea the HSE had claimed Ireland would not each. After I would break it down I’d Neither is a particularly pleasant expe- vapor may be less hazardous than to- that vaping is more harmful than the be tobacco-free – meaning a smoking test it and see how close I could get it by rience, and both are capable of transmit- bacco smoke, our findings can be used of government industry would have us believe. rate of 5 per cent or less – until 2052. breaking down each flavour.” ting unpleasant and harmful chemicals, to challenge the idea that e-cigarette va- “Nicotine is not a non-toxic substance. Along with PMI and BAT, Imperial Today he is the managing director just in different ways. por is safe, because many of the volatile for the tobacco It can cause problems in blood vessels, Tobacco, the maker of the John Players and controlling shareholder of Liquid According to Wenger and Sodeau, the organic compounds we identified are industry should be making heart rates speed up; it can cause brand of cigarettes, has deployed lob- Solutions, a Waterford company that most recent scientific research bears carcinogenic.” stress-related illnesses; it can cause gas- byists to call and meet with TDs to “to manufactures and sells liquids for vaping, this out. They pointed to a succession It especially warned about the manner bankruptcy tro-intestinal problems; issues with the ensure all cigarette products are taxed The Sunday Business Post February 10, 2019 Post Plus Business Insight 3

Vape shops are springing up all over the country, but the actual impacts of the practice are, as yet, unknown Maura Hickey

ticular heated tobacco products, taking particular aim at what they described as “the anti-tobacco extremists of the World Health Organisation”. For Evans-Reeves, it highlights their hypocrisy in attempting to sell their heat- ed tobacco products as safer alternatives to smoking where there is currently no independent evidence to bear this out. “If they are genuinely committed to harm reduction, as they seem to be claiming in Britain, then why are they still selling their cigarettes to young peo- ple in low to middle-income countries? Why are they challenging legislation that would affect their products?”

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or John Crown, Big Tobacco has no place in any government initia- tives to reduce smoking in Ireland. “I have an ideological position Fon this, and it’s that there is never any reason for any government to be work- ing in any way, shape or form with any tobacco industry,” he says. Killian McGrath of Liquid Solutions, a Waterford company that manufactures and sells liquids for vaping Dylan Vaughan “The tobacco industry and the govern- ment should be completely adversarial in their relationship, because the gov- vide worthwhile information to policy around the world – and the heated to- ernment has the interest of its citizens makers. bacco products that still use tobacco. at heart, while tobacco has been making “We’re not trying to push one brand, “It’s about how tobacco companies are profit at the expense of health. we’re keeping it around vaping and the promoting a different non-combustible “They have no common ground and generic information. That way, the con- product and how they’re putting them- there should be no meetings other than sumer has choice,” he says. selves in the same space as e-cigarettes prosecutorial.” According to Karen Evans-Reeves, a intentionally,” she says. In Crown’s view, the government However research fellow at the Tobacco Control According to Evans-Reeves, howev- should do anything it can to reduce on the same basis” – meaning, of course, and a handful of Irish and international scientifically Research Group at the University of er scientifically unfounded the health smoking rates, and that should include keeping the tax on e-cigarettes low. vaping-related companies such as Ner- Bath, all of this is indicative of just how claims for e-cigarettes might be, big to- everything from putting a tax on compa- Big tobacco also works through local udia, Nicopure Labs, Multi-Cig, Mad- unfounded the much effort the big tobacco companies bacco wants to bask in that glow. nies, to the setting of a date for which it organisations, including Vape Business vapes and the eCig Store. are putting into lobbying national pol- “The industry is likely to know that should be illegal to manufacture tobacco Ireland, where one of the directors is Alongside those sit some of the biggest health claims for iticians – as well as being illustrative of people will be confused, it knows it can products for profit. Keith Flynn of Hale. names in cigarettes, such as Philip Morris their tactical approach. control this dialogue, trying to push its “If tobacco were discovered tomor- Flynn’s fellow members include wine International, PJ Carroll and John Play- e-cigarettes might For Evans-Reeves, part of their advo- heated tobacco – which it controls,” she row, it would not be legal. Stuff far and cigar distributor Ampersand, the na- er (while Japanese Tobacco is a former be, big tobacco cacy for smoking cessation measures is says. less dangerous than tobacco has been tional lobby group of convenience stores member, having recently resigned its the value in blurring the lines between A recent investigation by Reuters banned, but this got grandfathered in,” and newsagents association CSNA, the membership). wants to bask in the liquid vaporisers that Killian McGrath found that Philip Morris in particular he says. “The ambition of government National Federation of Retail Newsagents, Flynn told The Sunday Business and Keith Flynn make – the majority had devoted tens of millions to a massive for the tobacco industry should be convenience store distributor Primeline, Post that his goal was merely to pro- that glow of which are made by small operators global lobbying campaign on its par- bankruptcy.”

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