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The National Assembly unanimously votes to ban puffs

undefined undefined 5 décembre 2023 undefined 18h42

undefined undefined 3 janvier 2024 undefined 12h48

The Editor

© Shutterstock - Misha Mula

Yesterday, the deputies unanimously passed a bipartisan bill to ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes, also known as "puffs" in slang. The text will now go to the Senate and also needs approval from the European Commission.

Ridiculously low prices, eccentric colors, diverse flavors ranging from watermelon to fresh mint, strawberry, and tobacco: puffs are becoming increasingly popular among young people, sometimes even underage individuals. While in September, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced their upcoming ban, a bill was submitted to the Assembly, led by deputies Francesca Pasquini (Green) and Michel Lauzzana (Renaissance). Last night, the 104 present deputies unanimously adopted it.


Puffs banned by September 2024

The text must now go through the Senate and obtain the approval of the European Commission, in a process that the government hopes to see completed by the end of next summer. The ban on these single-use electronic cigarettes will take effect by September 2024. The measure is already part of the government's new plan to combat smoking for "a generation free of tobacco by 2032".


A measure for public health and the environment

As a reminder, non-rechargeable puffs offer a certain number of puffs with a nicotine content ranging from 0 to 20 mg/ml, which "paves the way for a strong dependence", especially among minors.The Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, denounced it. Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death in France, with 75,000 deaths per year. Another argument in favor of the ban: "The plastic and lithium they are made of have a production process that is very oil and water consuming, extracted from the other side of the world under deplorable conditions," emphasized the ecologist Francesca Pasquini.