E-cigarettes from 18

Irish government bans smoking until the age of 21

Ireland's government will only allow smoking from the age of 21 in future. "It has been proven that the risk of becoming a smoker is particularly high between the ages of 18 and 21," argued Health Minister Stephen Donnelly on Tuesday.

The legal minimum age for buying tobacco products will therefore be raised to 21. Currently, as in most other EU countries, the lower limit is 18. According to the draft law, those between the ages of 18 and 21 are still exempt from the new regulation. There is a further exception for e-cigarettes, for which the minimum age (18) remains unaffected.

According to the Minister of Health, the smoking rate in Ireland is set to fall. Experience from the USA would show that the higher minimum age "limits the social sources of cigarettes" for young people. "They are less likely to be in groups with people who can legally buy cigarettes."

One in five smokes
According to the Department of Health, almost one in five people over the age of 18 smoke in Ireland. The country was the first EU member state to introduce an indoor smoking ban (in 2004).

Latvia's government has passed a law that will raise the minimum smoking age to 20 by 2025. Stricter rules are also being discussed in the UK. In the USA, the age limit for buying tobacco and alcohol is 21.