2023-05-03 19:18:10
The days of the “puffs” seem numbered. The Minister of Health, François Braun, said he was “favorable” on Wednesday to the ban on these disposable electronic cigarettes, introduced in France in 2021. They “bring a young part of our population to smoking”, justifies Francois Braun on France Inter. “Smoking is a scourge, it’s 75,000 deaths a year, I remind you,” insists the minister. He had already spoken out against these e-cigarettes last autonomous, without giving a precise timetable.
This time, the government intends to “work with parliamentarians” to achieve this ban, which could appear in the next Social Security financing law or in “other laws before the end of the year”, specifies François Braun . The banning of “puffs” could be part of the government’s new anti-smoking plan, planned for the period 2023-2028, according to him.
The products are decried in more ways than one. The “puffs” are suspected of encouraging smoking among the youngest. Their sweet or fruity tastes are clearly reminiscent of those of childhood sweets: “marshmallow”, “cotton candy”, “chocolate hazelnut”, “unicorn”… The brightly colored packaging with candy illustrations also clearly targets young people. The low price, ranging from 8 to 12 euros for 500 puffs, also makes the “puff” accessible to teenagers.
A strategy that targets young people
Moreover, the communication channels of the twenty brands that market these products make no secret of their intentions. They rely on social media and influencers to make their products popular.
Result of this strategy: these cigarettes have “a rather positive and harmless image among young people”, notes the Alliance Against Tobacco network, which is campaigning for a ban on the product.
The “puffs” can even become “a gateway” to cigarettes for adolescents, warns the group of associations fighting against smoking. Indeed, 13% of young people admit to having consumed tobacco with these products, according to a study published by the network in 2022.
However, these cigarettes can contain up to 20 mg / ml of nicotine, an addictive substance and a level high enough to create a strong addiction. Electronic cigarettes are also prohibited for minors.
An environmental scourge
In addition to this health dimension, this object is an environmental scourge. The plastic tube has a battery that cannot be dismantled and is made up of particularly harmful components: heavy metals, lithium, nicotine, etc. Due to these particularities, there is no collection channel and the “puffs” cannot be recycled. Their particularly polluting residues therefore directly contaminate the soil.
For all these reasons, the “puff” is already being banned in Germany, Belgium and Ireland. “France must absolutely follow the same movement”, supports a column published in “Le Monde” signed by a collective of more than twenty personalities including doctors, tobacco specialists and defenders of the environment.
The National Committee against Smoking (CNCT) is of the same opinion. While a new anti-tobacco plan is in preparation, the association made its proposals for bringing about a “tobacco-free generation by 2032” in a white paper published on Tuesday. Among them are a better commercial, legal, economic and political framework for tobacco – and, of course, the prohibition of “puffs”.
The Senate had also voted to add a dissuasive tax on these products last November. But faced with this sling, it could be that the tobacco companies are mobilizing to preserve their new El Dorado.
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