Will disposable electronic vaping devices, also called “puffs”, appear on the French market in 2021 and disappear in 2024? This is the wish of the National Assembly, which on Monday December 4th unanimously adopted at first reading a text banning these flavored disposable electronic cigarettes, popular among a young audience.

Cheap, colorful and with strawberry ice cream, watermelon or chocolate flavors… These non-refillable puffs offer a specific number of puffs for a nicotine level between 0 and 20 mg/ml “Opens the way to strong dependency”especially among minors, denounced Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau.

“Their price is ridiculous, the fruity and sweet flavors are attractive, the discretion of the device ensures that they go unnoticed by parents.”lamented Francesca Pasquini, who submitted the text in November 2022. “The National Academy of Medicine calls puffs an ‘insidious trap for children and adolescents'”emphasized his co-rapporteur Michel Lauzzana (Renaissance).

Their proposal was signed by 166 MPs and is supported by the government. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called for a ban on brothels at the beginning of September. “Among 13 to 16-year-olds, one in ten children has already tried the train.”alerted Aurélien Rousseau and denounced a “Initiation effect to smoking” and a “environmental plague”.

“A time bomb for health”

In return, representatives from all factions of the Assembly welcomed the initiative, which was approved by the 104 elected officials present. “Puffs are a time bomb for the health of our fellow citizens”alarmed Paul Christophe (Horizons). “We absolutely have to react”, added Stéphane Viry (Les Républicains). For the group La France insoumise, MP Rachel Keke called “Political leaders should lead by example”in a remark addressed to the Prime Minister that is often heard in the Chamber.

Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death, accounting for 75,000 deaths per year. The “are not just statistics, they are first names, lives, broken and grieving families”Karl introduced Olive (Renaissance) in the plenary hall.

Another argument for the ban: “The plastic and lithium they are made of have a production method that uses a lot of oil and water and is mined in appalling conditions on the other side of the world.”emphasized Francesca Pasquini.

The MPs behind the text and the government together hope for a ban on these disposable electronic cigarettes by September 2024. The measure is already part of the new government plan to combat smoking “A generation without tobacco by 2032”.

Preliminary procedure with Brussels

If the bill still has to be approved unchanged in the Senate in order to hope for quick adoption, it must, above all, go through a procedure at the European level. The government must inform the European Commission of its desire to ban whorehouses. The latter then has six months to respond and comment, in particular on the proportionality of the ban.

“We decided to focus exclusively on puffs in order to move safely and quickly to a simple ban.”, emphasized Francesca Pasquini. In the committee, Michel Lauzanna also asked to avoid extending the ban in order not to violate the 2014 European directive “tobacco products”.

Awaiting criticism from some MEPs who would have liked to go further and also ban rechargeable e-cigarettes, he cited as an example Belgium’s difficulties in complying with the European procedure.

The government could also anticipate and initiate the process with the European Commission before its adoption by the Senate, hoping to achieve a ban by the end of summer 2024. In a press release on Monday, the Assembly’s environmental group called on the government to do so “Notify the European Commission as soon as possible” And “to put the text on the Senate agenda” in the first quarter of 2024.