French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the government is working on a bill to ban disposable e-cigarettes as the nation’s authorities seek to stop younger people from taking up smoking.
(Bloomberg) — French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the government is working on a bill to ban disposable e-cigarettes as the nation’s authorities seek to stop younger people from taking up smoking.
While Borne ruled out new tax increases on cigarettes in 2024, she said her administration was planning to crack down on smoking, a habit she said was back on the rise in France, leading to the deaths of 75,000 people every year.
“We will soon present a new national plan against smoking which will notably ban disposable e-cigarettes, so-called “puffs” which give bad habits to young people,” she said in an interview with RTL radio aired on Sunday.
Other countries are considering banning vaping products. The US Food and Drug Administration, which regulates tobacco and vape products, has said it is taking action to combat the rise of flavored, disposable e-cigarettes.
“One can say this is not nicotine, but it’s a reflex which young people get used to,” the French premier said. “That’s how they start smoking, so I think we need to put an end to that.”
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