There is a possibility that e-cigarettes will eliminate standard cigarettes from the market. However, it is increasingly being said that these products have a negative impact on our health. They can lead to lung, heart and even Alzheimer's disease.

This is why more and more countries – including Germany, Ireland and Belgium - are banning the use of disposable vapes. Another that has decided to outlaw them is France.

In the beginning of September, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne was a guest on RTL radio. In the interview, she said that the authorities were doing everything possible to ban the use of disposables. This is a part of the government's anti-smoking plan for 2023-2028, and Élisabeth Borne said it should come into force later this year.

Why have disposable vapes become so popular? The answer is very simple. Firstly, they are sold without any problem in tobacco shops, and one "puff" (as it is referred to in France) costs about 9 euros. This is less than a packet of 20 cigarettes. Secondly, single-use vapes offer about 600 possible puffs. It takes as many as 40 cigarettes to achieve the same "effectiveness". The French National Academy of Medicine called disposable vapes "a particularly sneaky trap for children and young people".

Activists stress how dangerous disposables are to health and resent their manufacturers. They point out that e-cigarettes are purposefully designed with distinctive and eye-catching colours and their flavours are reminiscent of sweets. This can encourage children and young people to use disposables as it can be hard for them to resist e-cigarettes with flavours like chocolate, hazelnut or doughnuts.

As we read on bbc.com, the Alliance Against Tobacco (ACT) reports that 13% of 13 to 16-year-olds have tried "puffs" at least once. Most say they started smoking around the ages of 11 or 12.

"The ban is a great victory for civil society. These disposable e-cigarettes are acting as a gateway to smoking for young people. It's become an epidemic. It is terrible how the tobacco industry has set out to hook children.," Loïc Josseran, president of ACT, told the media in an interview.

Disposables do not only have a negative impact on our health. It turns out that they can be just as dangerous to the environment. As bbc.com reports, in the UK, a 2022 study by the environmental organisation Material Focus found that more than one million used devices are thrown away every week.

A group of French doctors and environmentalists called this an "environmental plague". They pointed out that each disposable is made of plastic and contains a non-removable battery with around 0.15g of lithium. In addition, there are nicotine salts and traces of heavy metals.

E-cigarettes in Poland will also disappear, but most likely not until 2026. Not for health reasons, but for environmental reasons imposed by the European Union. According to the EU's regulation, by that time all portable electronic devices, and thus also popular disposable vapes, will have to be equipped with a removable, reusable battery, which the user can replace on their own.

E-cigarette manufacturers will not apply this solution to disposable vapes because it would be too costly.

Source: bbc.com