“they gradually become intoxicated and become addicted to nicotine”

Lola is 16 years old and carries in her mouth a small colored plastic tube of about ten centimeters, a puff (pronounced puff), which literally means “puff” in English, a kind of disposable electronic cigarette with very varied tastes. For the teenager, “the best are leetchi and, I think, watermelon”. “I would say mango”adds one of his comrades. “Violet and marshmallow, I like it”complements another band member.

>> The enthusiasm of teenagers for puff, a report to listen to at length in Le Quart d’Heure, the daily news podcast from franceinfo.

These sweet flavors partly explain its success with middle and high school students, while the sale of puff is prohibited to minors. Lola, for example, does not see herself smoking traditional cigarettes at all: “Cigarettes, in fact, I don’t smoke them because it disgusts me. After a while, I find that the taste is disgusting”.

“I choose my tastes, I can change regularly. As soon as it disgusts me, I buy one”

Lola, 16 years old

at franceinfo

And even if they are minors, Lola and her friends have no trouble buying puffs: “There is a lot of [bureaux de] letting tobacco. Or we order them on Instagram sites. It’s not hard to find.” A cheap product: from 7 euros for more than 500 puffs of smoke, the equivalent of a classic pack of cigarettes”. It’s super profitable.” insists Lola.

The problem is that many young puff smokers do not realize that the product can become addictive very quickly. For Lola, “It’s more entertainment. It’s not like I’m really addicted. As soon as they go over 10 euros, I won’t buy any more”. One of her friends adds: “I know it’s wrong. So when I see that I’m smoking too much, I think I’ll quit someday.” “There’s not a lot of nicotine in the puffs, so that’s fine,” adds another high school student.

However, some of these electronic cigarettes contain up to 2% nicotine. This is what worries the UDI deputy for Indre-et-Loire Sophie Métadier who challenged the government on this subject: “It’s not trivial when there is nicotine in the product. The big problem is that we reach children who do not want to smoke, who have the impression of using a product that has nothing to do with cigarettes and who, for all that, become intoxicated little by little and become addicted to nicotine.”

The MP also warns about the consequences for the environment of this disposable electronic cigarette.