PARIS — On Thursday, March 21, French lawmakers reached an agreement on a bill that proposes the prohibition of disposable e-cigarettes by the end of 2024.

These disposable e-cigarettes (from the brands Puff or Vaze) are widely promoted on social media and are especially popular among young people.

The ready-to-use vaping devices can contain as much as 20 mg/mL of nicotine salts, the highest rate allowed in the European Union. They deliver approximately 600 puffs per device (equivalent to about two packs of cigarettes) and are discarded once depleted. These e-cigarettes are sold at an attractive price and are available in around 10 fruity and sweet flavors that particularly target young people, as the National Committee Against Tobacco explained on its website.

Although the sale of these devices to minors is prohibited, 86% of young vapers surveyed reported never having been refused a sale of an e-cigarette in the past 12 months at a tobacconist, and 80% reported never having been refused at specialized stores, according to a survey by the committee.

The devices have been criticized as a gateway to smoking for teenagers and for making them particularly dependent, especially since the consequences of exposing the brain to nicotine at this age affect its neurologic development.

Moreover, this type of e-cigarette poses an environmental problem, because it contains batteries made of heavy metals, electronic circuits, plastic, and residues of liquids and nicotine that pollute waterways, wildlife, and flora.

Deputy Francesca Pasquini introduced a bill in November 2022 that gained support from deputies of different political backgrounds. In total, 168 deputies from a joint committee representing eight political groups cosigned this unanimously passed text in the National Assembly in December 2023. The bill gained support in the Senate in early February.

“With a finalized text, the subject of consensus between the two chambers, only the approval of the European Commission is now missing for Puffs to finally be banned in France,” said Pasquini in a statement.

Health Minister Catherine Vautrin announced she would immediately approach the European Commission. If the Commission’s conclusions are like those sent to Belgium, the ban could be in effect before the end of 2024.

This story was translated from the Medscape French edition using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.