The claim is made in the report published by the Department today on the findings of the public consultation on further regulation of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products.
It said that there were a series of spikes in entries, beginning twelve days into the consultation period. This included submissions continuing to be received throughout the night.
“The Department received complaints from members of the public that a vaping company was offering financial incentives to customers in the form of online retail vouchers and discounts instore in return for making a submission to the consultation.
“Some individuals claimed that the response was submitted by staff members instore on their behalf with a copy sent to them by email, and they were not aware in advance of what they were submitting a response to, and/or which answers were submitted on their behalf.
“In one of these cases, the response was excluded at the request of the individual,” said the report.
It added that even though views were only sought from residents of Ireland, the consultation was reported on and publicised internationally, including by a US-based lobbying group with links to the tobacco industry.
“As the Department did not collect identifying information it was not possible to identify any responses as being fraudulent.
“If respondents selected themselves as ‘residents of Ireland’, their submissions were included at face value. With the exception of the response that was removed by request, none of the above factors resulted in submissions being excluded from the consultation.”
The consultation ran for six weeks from November 2023 to January 2024.
The consultation looked at potential additional measures to decrease the appeal of nicotine inhaling products to young people, further de-normalise smoking and improve public health.
Some 15,821 responses were received in total, with 90pc of members of the public who responded being current vapers. Other responses were received from organisations and individuals in the spheres of health, education, consumer rights, retail, hospitality and the manufacture and distribution of nicotine inhaling products and tobacco products.
Findings showed strong support for all possible interventions from health organisations, healthcare workers, teachers and non-vapers, highlighting the need to protect children and the uncertainty about the long-term impact from vaping.
There was majority support from all respondents for some regulation of point-of-sale display and of the packaging and appearance of nicotine inhaling products. There were mixed views on other measures from vapers, the tobacco and vaping industries and retailers, particularly in relation to flavours. In particular, many vapers and industry said that these were important for adults using nicotine inhaling products to stop smoking.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: “We know that there is strong public support for further action on tobacco and nicotine inhaling products. This consultation was an opportunity for particular stakeholders to share their views.”
He added that “we were also made aware of a vaping industry campaign, with financial incentives, to encourage customers to contribute to the consultation.
“It is my intention to introduce legislation to regulate the display and advertisement of vapes in shops, the packaging and appearance of the products and the flavours of vape liquids. I will also ban single use vapes, which are detrimental to the health of our young people and to our environment.
“I have already taken action on this issue with the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023, which includes the banning of the sale of vapes to under 18s and introducing a new licensing system, but there is more to do. I am committed to ensuring that we progress further legislation as soon as possible after summer.”
