Service station chain Applegreen began selling Juul e-cigarettes on Thursday under a new deal agreed by the the two companies.
Juul Labs, 35 per cent-owned by Marlboro parent, Altria, and the leading US maker of e-cigarettes, launched on the Irish market in May, targeting the Republic's 830,000 adult smokers.
The company's products, the e-cigarettes themselves and refill cartridges, went on sale in 125 Applegreen stores on Thursday, adding the chain to existing retailers, Circle K service stations and Hale vaping shops.
E-cigarettes or vapes allow users to inhale vapour containing nicotine, the addictive drug in tobacco, by heating liquid containing the substance.
Health authorities in several European countries, including the UK, regard them as a less harmful alternative to tobacco.
Position
The Republic's Government has not taken any position. A recent Department of Finance Tax Strategy Group report indicated that it believed a revised EU Tobacco Products Tax Directive would tackle policy in that area in relation to e-cigarettes.
Welcoming the Applegreen Deal, Gareth Smyth, general manager of Juul Labs Ireland, said that the company fully supported the introduction of legislation banning the sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s.
Juul Labs demands that retailers sell its products only to over 18s and wants shop staff to seek identification from any customer who looks under 25.
