As a public health measure, it is hard to fault. From next February 2, retailers will have to pay an annual licence fee of €1,000 to sell tobacco products and another €800 to sell vapes. Introduced by former health minister Stephen Donnelly under the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023, the stated purpose of the new licensing regime is to “reduce availability and consumption by  disincentivising the sale of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products”. But the move has been seen as an existential threat to smaller retailers and is the subject of a legal challenge, launched…

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