three questions about these disposable electronic cigarettes popular with adolescents

The National Assembly adopted, on Monday, at first reading, a bill aimed at banning “puffs”, with the support of the government. The text must now be examined by the Senate.

Common front against the “puffs”. The National Assembly unanimously adopted, Monday, December 4, at first reading, a transpartisan bill aimed at banning these single-use electronic cigarettes popular with a young public. The text must still be included on the Senate agenda and receive the green light from the European Commission, before an effective ban hoped for by September 2024 by the initiators of the text and by the government. The executive itself included this measure in its new plan to combat smoking. Franceinfo answers questions that arise about these disposable products.

1What is a “puff”?

Sold on the internet, at tobacconists, in supermarkets, but also in certain bars and restaurants, “puffs” are disposable electronic cigarettes with varied flavors, often sweet. Strawberry, cotton candy, or even cookie flavors, they have the particularity of containing a defined number of “puffs”, that is to say puffs.

Appearing on the French market in September 2021, they quickly became popular with adolescents and pre-teens. Today, the trivialization of their consumption by minors worries public authorities and health authorities.

Unlike classic electronic cigarettes, they are therefore single-use, but also directly ready for use. Having become omnipresent, their price varies between five and 17 euros, according to a report from the National Committee Against Smoking (PDF) covering the period 2020-2022. “They deliver between 600 puffs – the equivalent of around two packs of cigarettes – and 5,000 puffs per device”notes the CNCT report.

2Is it dangerous for health?

The vast majority of puff brands contain “up to 20 mg/ml of nicotine salts”. Some, produced outside the European Union, “may contain up to 50 mg/ml”, observes the CNCT. These nicotine salts are far from being neutral for health. “Using puff, which contains nicotine salts, increases the risk of developing inflammation of the respiratory tract.warns a collective of doctors, tobacco specialists and environmental defenders, in a column published by The world in April.

According to this collective, the concentration of nicotine in these disposable electronic cigarettes “is high enough to create a strong dependence and can constitute a gateway to smoking”. In addition to the immediate health dangers, disposable “puffs”, made of plastic and containing a non-recyclable lithium battery, also contribute to pollution and global warming problems.

3Why is the consumption of “puff” by minors worrying?

In addition to nicotine addiction and the associated health dangers, health authorities are alarmed to see adolescents and pre-adolescents acquiring the habit of smoking. “Addiction is also habits, a purchasing ceremony : go buy your product, go to the tobacconist, unpack, put to your lips…”explains Loïc Josserand, president of the Alliance Against Tobacco, on franceinfo. “It’s a pediatric epidemic”alerts the doctor specializing in public health.

Tobacco consumption is certainly less and less common among young people, but the use of electronic cigarettes is increasing within this population. Between 2017 and 2022, experimentation increased from 52.4% to 56.9% among 17-year-olds. Daily use has even tripled, increasing from 1.9% to 6.2%, according to the latest survey, published in March by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies. (PDF).

But the “puff” appears as a gateway. In July 2022, 13% of adolescents aged 13-16 had already tried the “puff” and “28% of them began their introduction to nicotine through this product, and 17% of them then turned to another form of nicotine or tobacco product”according to a survey carried out for the Alliance Against Tobacco association.

The “puff” is displayed in particular on social networks frequented by adolescents. Videos promoting it accumulate hundreds of thousands of views. Tobacco specialists see this as proof of marketing aimed at a young audience. “Clearly, puff manufacturers are targeting young people“denounced in October 2022 on franceinfo Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee against Tobacco.