The deputies voted unanimously the bill to prohibit disposable electronic cigarettes, which must now be examined by the Senate.
- This Tuesday, February 4, the bill to prohibit the sale and free distribution of disposable electronic cigarettes, which push young people to smoking, was voted by the National Assembly.
- On February 12, the Senate will have to examine the text and decide.
- If the senators adopt it, France will become the second European country to ban puffs after Belgium.
According to deputies, electronic cigarettes, which are “Pre -filled with a liquid and cannot be filled again, whether or not they have a rechargeable battery” are “An aberration both from the point of view of public health and that of the environmental imprint of these devices.” This is why, this Tuesday, February 4, the bill to prohibit electronic vaping -for -use systems, also known as “Puffs”, was adopted by The National Assembly. Out of 163 deputies, all voted in favor of this text, carried by the deputies Michel Lauzzana (Ensemble for the Republic) and Francesca Pasquini (generation. S). The latter plans to make the sale of these cigarettes illegal, but also banish their free distribution. People who do not respect this law will be a fine of € 100,000, or even € 200,000 in the event of a recurrence.
Puffs initiate young people to tobacco consumption
As a reminder, the use of these products with colored packaging and fruity or sweet aromas, whose promotion and sale are made on social networks, has increased sharply in recent years, especially among young people under the age of 18, then that their sale is theoretically prohibited for minors. Problem: they most often contain nicotine, a substance that leads to high dependence. “Young people are particularly vulnerable, due to the effects of nicotine on the development of their brain”, report The Ministry of Health. This was confirmed by the High Public Health Council (HCSP) in an opinion, relating to the “risk profits from electronic cigarettes”, published on November 2021. “The scientific data available to date are rather in favor of the initiating role of vaping products, for adolescents, for tobacco consumption.”
“An additional step towards this generation free of tobacco”
Now, this bill must be examined by the Senate, which must decide on February 12. If the vote is positive, the text will be definitively adopted and will make France the second European country to ban puffs after Belgium. “When there are beautiful victories, you have to know how to rejoice. This ban constitutes an additional step towards this generation free of tobacco which is a central objective of the national tobacco control program”, said the Minister of Health, Yannick Neuder.
