In tobacconists, displays, posters, stickers or animated screens promote nicotine sachets, heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes. Despite very strict legislation, nearly seven out of ten tobacconists are in violation by displaying advertisements for these new tobacco and vaping products. This is the result of a study conducted from 2020 to 2022 by the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT), published Monday, February 13. Faced with these offenses in terms of advertising, the association is asking for more controls and sanctions. And alert on the very rapid development of a market targeting more particularly young people, in particular through the use of aromas.
Since 2016, the Public Health Code has provided for a total ban on advertising for tobacco products. Online, just like in stores. For electronic cigarettes, the law authorizes a notice not visible from outside the place of sale. According to the study, 84.5% of tobacconists advertising vaping are illegal. In the 615 establishments visited, 1,194 advertisements for vaping products were identified: 43% of them were visible from the outside, and three-quarters did not respect the authorized format.
“We are facing an extremely offensive strategy from the tobacco industry, explains Emmanuelle Béguinot, director of the National Committee against Smoking. Faced with the decline of cigarettes, these new tobacco products appear with a view to dominating the nicotine market. »
Sweet tastes
In their sights, the evolution of the vaping products market, especially with the arrival of a new generation of electronic cigarettes, the puffs. Light, easy to use and disposable, they appeared in 2019 in the United States. As part of its investigations, the CNCT identifies their arrival in France in September 2021 and begins to alert. “The evolution of this market is extremely rapid, with this aroma phenomenon. That’s what makes it important for us to sound the alarm.”insists Mme Béguinot.
Mango, red fruits, marshmallow… she points to a map of flavors that refers to the world of confectionery: “And so, we forget that we are in the consumption of a drug. » The puffs with colorful packaging are very popular with young consumers, even in colleges, despite the ban on sales to minors.
Online, products are widely promoted by brands, between promotions, loyalty programs, sponsorship of musical or sporting events, with this constant highlighting of aromas. The incentive continues with influencers who praise the tastes, but also their design and their low harmfulness, compared to those of traditional cigarettes. Like Sarah Fraisou, reality TV candidate, very followed on Snapcha. On the TikTok side, young consumers stage themselves, test the flavors, thus trivializing their use.
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