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RTE 1 Drivetime Interview- Escape the Vape

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RTE 1 Drivetime Interview- Escape the Vape

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TFI-PUB 23 Rev 2 Information and guidance on e-cigarettes and other nicotine containing products for schools WEB VERSION 2026

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Student ambassadors who have worked on the campaign unveiled the Escape the Vape signage in St. Patrick’s Comprehensive School.

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Escape the Vape sign unveiling at St. Caimins Secondary School

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Escape the Vape sign unveiling at St. Caimins Secondary School

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Escape the Vape sign unveiling at Shannon FRC

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Escape the Vape sign unveiling at Shannon FRC

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Vaping among young people has become a growing concern for families, schools and health professionals across Clare - and this week, a major community campaign is aiming to tackle it head on.
The Escape the Vape initiative, led by the South Clare Child and Family Support Network under Tusla, is bringing together schools, youth services and addiction specialists to raise awareness about the impact of nicotine products on young people.

On Monday's Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey was joined by Aisling Mulhall, Senior Child and Family Support Network Coordinator with Tusla, Cora Guinane, School Chaplain at St. Caimin's Community School in Shannon, and Dylan Madden Phelan, a second-year student involved in the initiative.
You can listen to the full interview below:

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Escape The Vape Campaign - Podcasts % Clare FM

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Vaping Awareness Campaign 2nd-6th March 2026

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Vaping Awareness Campaign 2nd-6th March 2026

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Library Exhibition 27th Feb - 23rd March 2026 Escape the Vape Poster Competition 

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Library Exhibition 27th Feb - 23rd March 2026 Escape the Vape Poster Competition 

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Why are more young Irish people using nicotine pouches?

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Health surveys show a steady rise in the use of nicotine pouches and vapes, particularly by people, who did not smoke cigarettes previously

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HSE Midwest Drug Alcohol Training Calendar February 2026 - June 2026

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Resources available on e-cigarettes and vaping for young people parents and schools - CHO 1

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The drug HHC (Hexahydrocannabinol) is now a Schedule 1 controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. This means that the import, export, production, possession, sale, and supply of products containing HHC is now illegal.

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New Youth Vaping Prevention Campaign – HSE Health and Wellbeing

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The Scary Truth About Vaping | Reading Guide | The Risks of Vaping Magazine Lesson Plan | Lesson Plans | HHS.gov

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Created by FDA for students, “The Risks of Vaping,” a vaping prevention magazine includes articles, videos, and an educational project to teach teens.

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What Is Vaping?

Vaping is the inhaling of a vapor created by an electronic cigarette ( e-cigarette) or other vaping device.

How Does Vaping Work?

E-cigarettes (or "vape pens") heat a liquid until it becomes a vapor, which is inhaled. The liquid (e-liquid or "vape juice") can contain nicotine or marijuana distillate or oil. E-cigarettes can be refillable or pre-filled with cartridges containing the e-liquid. The pre-filled e-cigarettes (called "Puff Bars") are designed for one-time use. After taking a certain number of "puffs," the user throws the device away.

What Are the Health Effects of Vaping?

The health risks of vaping include:

addiction: E-cigarettes contain nicotine, a drug that's highly addictive. You don't have to vape every day to get addicted.

anxiety and depression: Nicotine makes anxiety and depression worse. It also affects memory, concentration, self-control, and attention, especially in developing brains.

becoming a smoker: People who vape are more likely to start smoking regular (tobacco) cigarettes and may be more likely to develop other addictions in the future.

impotence: There is some evidence that vaping can cause sexual dysfunction in men.

sleep problems

exposure to cancer-causing chemicals

chronic bronchitis

lung damage that can be life-threatening

Other health effects are possible that we don't yet know about. Vaping hasn't been around that long, so its health risks aren't all known.

Why Should I Quit?

Wanting to be the best, healthiest version of yourself is an important reason to quit vaping. Others include:

Addiction: Addiction in the growing brain may set up pathways for later addiction to other substances.

Brain risks: Nicotine affects your brain development. This can make it harder to learn and concentrate. Some of the brain changes are permanent and can affect your mood and ability to control your impulses as an adult.

Use of other tobacco products: Studies show that vaping makes it more likely that someone will try other tobacco products, like regular cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, and smokeless tobacco.

Toxins (poisons): The vapor made from e-cigarettes is not made of water. The vapor contains harmful chemicals and very fine particles that are inhaled into the lungs and exhaled into the environment.

Sports: You want to do your best in sports, and vaping may lead to lung inflammation (irritation).

Money: Vaping is expensive! The cost of the cartridges over time starts to add up. Instead, you could spend that money on other things you need or enjoy.

To go against tobacco company advertising: Many e-cigarettes are made by the same companies that produce regular cigarettes. Their marketing targets young people by making fun flavors for e-cigarettes and showing young, healthy people vaping. They're trying to make you their next lifetime customer.

How Can I Quit?

Decide why you want to quit and write it down or put it in your phone. Look at the reason(s) when you feel the urge to vape.

Pick a day to stop vaping. Put it on the calendar and tell supportive friends and family that you're quitting on that day.

Get rid of all vaping supplies.

Download tools (such as apps and texting programs) to your phone that can help with cravings and give encouragement while you try to stop vaping. You can try:

Understand withdrawal. Nicotine addiction leads to very strong cravings for nicotine. It can also lead to:

feeling tired, cranky, angry, or depressed

trouble concentrating

trouble sleeping

hunger

restlessness

The signs of withdrawal are strongest in the first few days after stopping. They get better over the following days and weeks.

Get ready for feelings, people, and places that make you want to vape. If possible, avoid places and people that trigger the urge to vape. If you feel the urge to vape, try these things instead:

Chew sugar-free gum or drink water.

Text, call, or hang out with a friend who will support you.

Listen to your favorite playlist.

Go for a walk or jog.

Try yoga or meditation.

Take 10 deep breaths.

Keep your hands busy with a hobby, like drawing or making jewelry.

Go somewhere where smoking/vaping isn't allowed.

When Should I Call the Doctor?

Call your doctor right away if you vape and have:

coughing, shortness of breath, or chest pain

nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea

tiredness, fever, or weight loss

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Vaping: What You Need to Know (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth

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E-cigarettes (or “vape pens”) heat a liquid until it becomes a vapor that’s inhaled. Vape juice can contain nicotine or marijuana distillate or oil. Here are the facts on vaping and its many health risks.

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Must Know Facts About E-Cigarettes | Vaping 101 | Vaping Prevention Resources | HHS.gov

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Created by FDA for students, these vaping prevention videos feature must-know facts about e-cigarettes and the health risks associated with vaping.

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The aim of the campaign is to work “Towards a Tobacco and Vape Free Clare”.

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Get help with the unique challenges that teens have when quitting smoking or vaping. Find information and tools designed to help you stop for good.

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Find out about the risks of vaping for young people, how to talk to your child about vaping and what to do if your child vapes.

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There is a vaping epidemic in this country, especially among teens. Every day, over 3,500 youths start vaping. In 2018 alone, the number of high school students who vape nearly doubled.

This is an emergency situation.

Join the fight! The American Heart Association is a relentless force against vaping. We're doing the important research, advocacy, and education to turn the tide on this dangerous epidemic. Your help is desperately needed. You can make a huge difference! Let's protect our children's health!

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Join the fight! The American Heart Association is a relentless force against vaping. We're doing the important research, advocacy, and education to turn the tide on this dangerous epidemic.

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New HSE campaign highlights risks of vaping products

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The HSE has launched a vaping and nicotine information campaign ‘Take a deep breath’ highlighting the risk of vaping products.

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NHSGGC - Young people and Vaping Presentation for Parents and Carers (Revised Aug 24)

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Video & Print Accordion - Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes

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Home About Resources For Parents Medical Resources Quitting Resources For Schools & Educators Latest Research Recursos en Español Video & Print Materials Local Resources by State Teens

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Facts about Vaping can be very vaporous | ScienceUpFirst

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Your healthiest option remains avoiding starting to smoke whether it is with traditional cigarettes or e-cigarettes.

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Quitting e-cigarettes is easier when you prepare in advance and have a plan. Find out what to expect when quitting vaping and how you can get ready to quit.

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Action on Smoking & Health (Scotland) (ASH Scotland) is a registered Scottish charity (SC 010412) and a company limited by guarantee(Scottish company no 141711)

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Vaping: Get the Facts - Episode 36 HSE Talking Health and Wellbeing Podcast

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Want support quitting? Join EX Program for free

Everyone deserves the chance to live free from nicotine addiction. Through our national public education campaigns, as well as in-school curriculums, we are inspiring a movement to live free from nicotine addiction by empowering young people to quit or never start in the first place.

National campaigns that prevent addiction and empower quitting

Our newest young adult campaign, Outsmart Nicotine, introduces a new generation to our market-leading, free EX Program, equipping them with the tools, resources, and support to quit for good or never start in the first place. Following the science and data, we are focusing on young adults (18-24) where prevalence of e-cigarette use is high and dual use of cigarettes is a growing concern. Developed over 15 years ago in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, EX Program supports anyone looking to quit smoking, vaping, or using any tobacco product with tools that have been proven to increase odds of quitting by up to 40%.

See the campaign

Curriculums to address the youth e-cigarette crisis

Youth nicotine addiction remains a serious public health concern. Among middle and high school students who currently vape, nearly 40% - over 620,000 teens - report using e-cigarettes frequently (38.4%), signaling signs of persistent nicotine addiction. To educate young people about the dangers of e-cigarette use, we provide a free digital course called Vaping: Know the truth that guides students through real-world scenarios in an authentic peer-to-peer youth voice. The curriculum also includes modules that address cannabis use and prescription drug misuse.

Learn more about our curriculums

A track record of saving lives

We have a legacy of transformative impact when it comes to nicotine addiction prevention and education. Our national public education campaigns helped bring down teen smoking from nearly 23% in 2000 to less than 2% today, and youth e-cigarette use to its lowest point in a decade.

See our impact

Youth engagement and training

Truth Initiative offers in-person and virtual leadership trainings with young people - including through our Tobacco/ Vape-Free College Program with over 230 campuses participating - to engage them in educating their peers on issues surrounding tobacco use, including physical and mental health consequences, health equity, and environmental impact. We also offer in-person and virtual training for adults at youth-serving organizations.

Explore youth and community initiatives

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YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT NICOTINE ADDICTION PREVENTION & EDUCATION

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Want support quitting? Join EX Program for free Everyone deserves the chance to live free from nicotine addiction. Through our national public education campaigns, as well as in-school curriculums, we are inspiring a movement to live free from nicotine addiction by empowering young people to quit or never start in the first place.

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The adverse effects of vaping in young people

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Cannabis Vaping Among Youth and Young Adults a Scoping Review

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There are many different types of e-cigarettes in use, also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and sometimes electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS). These systems heat a liquid to create aerosols that are inhaled by the user. These so-called e-liquids may or may not contain nicotine (but not tobacco) but also typically contain additives, flavours and chemicals that can be toxic to people's health.

Electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes) are the most common form of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS) but there are others, such as e-cigars and e-pipes. ENDS contain varying amounts of nicotine and harmful emissions.

E-cigarette emissions typically contain nicotine and other toxic substances that are harmful to both users, and non-users who are exposed to the aerosols second-hand. Some products claiming to be nicotine-free (ENNDS) have been found to contain nicotine.

The consumption of nicotine in children and adolescents has deleterious impacts on brain development, leading to long-term consequences for brain development and potentially leading to learning and anxiety disorders.

Nicotine is highly addictive and some evidence suggest that never-smoker minors who use ENDS can double their chance of starting to smoke tobacco cigarettes later in life.

Evidence reveals that these products are harmful to health and are not safe. However, it is too early to provide a clear answer on the long-term impact of using them or being exposed to them. Some recent studies suggest that ENDS use can increase the risk of heart disease and lung disorders. Nicotine exposure in pregnant women can have similar consequences for the brain development of the fetus.

ENDS use can also expose non-smokers and bystanders to nicotine and other harmful chemicals.

Electronic delivery systems have also been linked to a number of physical injuries, including burns from explosions or malfunctions, when the products are not of the expected standard or are tampered with by users.

Accidental exposure of children to ENDS e-liquids pose serious risks as devices may leak, or children may swallow the poisonous e-liquid.

There is growing evidence that ENDS could be associated with lung injuries and in recent times e-cigarette and vaping have been linked to an outbreak of lung injury in the USA. This is described by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as e-cigarette or vaping associated lung injury (EVALI), which led the CDC to activate an emergency investigation into EVALI on 17 September 2019.

The CDC notes, "As of 18 February 2020, there have been a total of 2,807 cases of EVALI reported from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, including 60 deaths confirmed in 27 states and the District of Columbia. While the cause of these deaths has not been conclusively determined, vitamin E acetate (VEA), a common additive in ENDS that contains cannabis (or THC), is thought to have played a significant role in these cases of lung injury. Further information on this incident, including a strong link of the EVALI outbreak to Vitamin E Acetate and the latest report, is available at https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html, which is updated every week, as the evidence is not sufficient to exclude the contribution of other chemicals."

Both tobacco products and ENDS pose risks to health. The safest approach is not to use either.

The levels of risk associated with using ENDS or tobacco products are likely to depend on a range of factors, some relating to the products used and some to the individual user. Factors include product type and characteristics, how the products are used, including frequency of use, how the products are manufactured, who is using the product, and whether product characteristics are manipulated post-sale.

Toxicity is not the only factor in considering risk to an individual or a population from exposure to ENDS emissions. These factors may include the potential for abusing or manipulating the product, use by children and adolescents who otherwise would not have used cigarettes, simultaneous use with other tobacco products (dual or poly use) and children and adolescents going on to use smoked products following experimentation with ENDS. Further, not all ENDS are the same and the risks to health may differ from one product to another, and from user to user.

Nicotine is highly addictive. A non-smoker who uses ENDS may become addicted to nicotine and find it difficult to stop using ENDS or become addicted to conventional tobacco products.

The aerosols generated by ENDS typically raises the concentration of particulate matter in indoor environments and contain nicotine and other potentially toxic substances. ENDS emissions therefore pose potential risks to both users and non-users.

How a country approaches ENDS will depend on factors particular to its situation. ENDS are currently banned in over 30 countries worldwide. In others they are regulated as consumer products, as pharmaceutical products, as tobacco products, other categories or totally unregulated.

Where they are not banned, WHO recommends that ENDS be regulated.

Regulatory objectives include:

Preventing initiation of ENDS use by non-smokers and children, such as by preventing or restricting advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and restricting flavours that appeal to children

Minimizing as far as possible potential health and/or risks to ENDS users, such as by regulating product characteristics

Protecting non-users from exposure to their emissions, such as by prohibiting ENDS use in indoor spaces where smoking is not permitted

Preventing unproven health claims

Protecting public health policies from commercial and other vested interests

To date, evidence on the use of ENDS as a cessation aid is inconclusive. In part due to the diversity of ENDS products and the low certainty surrounding many studies, the potential for ENDS to play a role as a population-level tobacco cessation intervention is unclear.

To truly help tobacco users quit and to strengthen global tobacco control, governments need to scale up policies and interventions that we know work. Tried and tested interventions, such as brief advice from health professionals, national toll-free quit lines and cessation interventions delivered via mobile text messaging are recommended. Where economically feasible, governments should also consider promoting nicotine replacement therapies and non-nicotine pharmacotherapies for cessation.

WHO regularly monitors and reviews the evidence on ENDS and health and offers guidance to governments.

This includes the biennial WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, which tracks the status of the tobacco epidemic and interventions to combat it and other relevant resources.

WHO strives to build a safer, healthier world for everyone, everywhere.

Links to WHO reports with further information on e-cigarettes or ENDS to which the reader can refer are provided below:

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There are many different types of e-cigarettes in use, also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and sometimes electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS). These systems heat a liquid to create aerosols that are inhaled by the user.

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SPHE Healthy Choices Unit 2 - Nicotine Addiction

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Created by young people from East Clare. Emma Samms sent me on the link and permission to use the video.

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Media Article-Comedians struggle to give up Vaping. 

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Media Article-Comedians struggle to give up Vaping. 

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Comedian Justine Stafford describes struggle to give up vaping – even though she never smoked tobacco

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A comedian has highlighted the epidemic of vaping as she described her efforts to quit e-cigarettes despite never having smoked tobacco before trying them.

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Parent Matters-vaping Products & psychoactive substances explained. 

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Parent Matters-vaping Products & psychoactive substances explained. 

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HSE Webinar.

Bobby Smith on second half of webinar.

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Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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Tobacco, Vaping & Cannabis – BC Lung Foundation

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Every year, an estimated 48,000 Canadians die from tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, making it the leading cause of preventable death in this country. Tragically, each day thousands of kids still pick up a vaping (e-cigarette) or tobacco product for the first time.

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Not Around Us Guidelines for Youth Consultation

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HSE Midwest Drug Alcohol Training Calendar February 2026 - June 2026

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Find out about the risks of vaping for young people, how to talk to your child about vaping and what to do if your child vapes.

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SPHE Healthy Choices Unit 2 - Nicotine Addiction

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SPHE Healthy Choices Unit 2 - Nicotine Addiction

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Nicotine: effects, withdrawal and support to quit

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Nicotine is an addictive chemical that comes from the tobacco plant. Young people are most at risk of negative effects. Find out about the effects of nicotine and types of support to quit.

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Schooldays.ie - Ireland\'s trusted Parenting and Education Website

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Vaping Awareness 2026: Protecting Teen Health in a Changing Landscape - Schooldays.ie

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As of early 2026, the landscape of vaping in Ireland has shifted significantly due to new public health legislation. While e-cigarettes were initially