The new national anti-smoking plan will not be unveiled until early autumn, according to the Prime minister's office, but the topic has already entered public debate. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's announcement, on RTL radio on September 3, that disposable electronic cigarettes – or "puffs" – would be banned "shortly," but that tobacco taxes would not be increased in 2024, took anti-smoking associations by surprise. Some are alarmed by the "ambiguous" message.
The ban on disposable vapes comes as no surprise: for months, warnings have been issued about the success of these e-cigarettes among young people. "I'm in favor of banning puffs, because they're leading a young segment of our population towards smoking," declared former health minister François Braun back in May. This is the foundation of the announcement made official by the Prime minister on Sunday.
With their colorful packaging and sweet aromas, these products are aimed at teenagers, even though electronic cigarettes are forbidden to minors. They offer a number of puffs with nicotine levels ranging from 0 to 20 mg/ml. "People can tell us it's not nicotine. But it's a reflex, a gesture that young people get used to. Then, that's how they become smokers, and we have to stop that," said Borne.
This position is welcomed by the Alliance contre le tabac (ACT) [Alliance Against Tobacco], which sounded the alarm on the subject a year ago, denouncing a "pediatric epidemic", and by the Comité national contre le tabagisme (CNCT) [National Committee Against Smoking], which included the recommendation in a white paper published in the spring.
The problem, as they tell it, lies in the "tax trajectory" that is taking shape at the same time: "We have increased tobacco taxes [in 2023] and we have no plans to increase them next year," declared the Prime minister. An assertive course, as the executive makes final arbitrations on the 2024 draft budget. "That doesn't mean we're not very vigilant about tobacco consumption," defended Borne, pointing out that "tobacco accounts for 75,000 deaths a year." Without cutting the nascent criticism short.
"On the one hand, they say they're closing the door on young people taking up smoking by banning 'puffs,' but on the other, they're leaving it wide open with a moratorium on tobacco taxation," deplored public health professor Loïc Josseran, president of ACT. This is not the way to meet the commitment of a tobacco-free generation by 2030. "Yet this is Emmanuel Macron's stated objective. The president had also made it a campaign promise to raise the price of a pack of tobacco (to 10 euros in 2017). "To be effective, tax pressure must be very strong and constant," stated Amélie Eschenbrenner, CNCT spokesperson.
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