Tobacco Licence Bill: Government plans to enact legislation before summer

The summer legislative programme announced by Chief Whip Hildegard Naughton contains as a priority legislation, the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2019.

With a Pre-Legislative Scrutiny by the Health Committee having been conducted, and their report received by the Department several months ago, it remains to be seen how many of that committee’s recommendations will find their way into a revised bill and subjected to the scrutiny of the Dáil and Seanad whilst being considered.

As no revised bill has been published, our observations are based upon the original (2019) publication and the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) that accompanied the bill to the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee.

There will be a transitional period (not yet defined) where existing retailers currently selling tobacco products and registered by the HSE will continue to be permitted to sell such products but all retailers wishing to continue will need to obtain a licence for each premise separately.

CSNA OPINION

Once the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2019 is published it will, no

It is envisaged that there will be two distinct licences, one covering combustible tobacco products, non -combustible tobacco products and vaping products (defined as Nicotine Inhaling Products)

(Category 1) and another licence for those wishing to sell noncombustible tobacco products and vaping products (Category 2).

The Department states in the RIA that ‘heat not burn’ products are non-combustible tobacco products, although it might be argued that filters are also non-combustible tobacco products.

The bill considers that the Health Service Executive should be charged with collecting the licence fee (as yet an undetermined amount) and that there should also be an “administrative fee” applied to the process (also as yet undetermined).

The licence will be in the name of an individual, shall not be transferable, and will have a 12-month lifespan before needing to be renewed.

If a store ceases to sell tobacco products, the licence extinguishes.

A retailer acquiring a licenced store will need to apply in advance of taking over the store for a licence in the name of the new applicant as there is no provision for transfer of an existing licence.

The bill sets out some of the requirements that an applicant for a Category 1 or Category 2 licence