Pic: Tim Ireland/PA Wire/Press Association Images

HEALTH MINISTER JAMES Reilly has asked his department to examine research around electronic cigarettes because he is not convinced that they are a safe product.

Reilly said earlier today that e-cigarettes are not harmless and because they contain nicotine they can have addictive and cardio-vascular effects.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated products that turn nicotine into a vapor inhaled by the user.

“I am not convinced of [their] safety,” Reilly told the media earlier today. “I don’t like the idea that they are being promoted, particularly on flights. I don’t like that.”

Last week, the British regulatory authority said it was to control the sale of such products by classifying them as medicines and making them available over-the-counter.

There are no regulations controlling the sale or advertising of e-cigarettes in Ireland. They are widely available in some shops and online but not in pharmacies following the advice of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.

Reilly added: “They might be safer than regular tobacco insofar as they don’t have all the other toxins in them but they still, I believe, are not safe. But I want to be on evidence-based ground when I make any possible decision in relation to them.”

Meanwhile, the minister also said today that it was his intention to ensure that all hospitals in Ireland are smoke-free by the end of the year both inside buildings and on the grounds of the health facilities.

Asked about the possibility of making the grounds of Leinster House smoke-free, Reilly said it was not his decision.

“Leinster House is something I can raise at the Cabinet but it is not within my gift to dictate that particular situation,” he said. “But I would agree that Leinster House ought to go that way and show leadership.”