The Valais Grand Council decided on Thursday to ban the sale of puffs, disposable electronic cigarettes, for environmental and health reasons, particularly for young people, who are particularly concerned. Valais is the second canton to ban these products.
Parliament was expected to conclude the amendment to the Health Act. The ban on conversion therapy featured prominently. But an amendment concerning the ban on these disposable electronic cigarettes was added at the last moment. It is expected to come into force in 2025.
After the Jura
With this surprise decision, “the Valais Parliament is sending a strong signal to the protection of youth”, Promotion Santé Valais immediately reacted in a press release. After Jura, Valais is the second French-speaking canton to request a ban on the sale of puffs on its territory.
Teenagers and pre-teens are particularly attracted to these products with multiple flavors. These puffs, which contain a lithium battery and plastic, have been present on the Swiss market since 2020.
The Swiss Association for the Prevention of Smoking (AT Switzerland) affirmed last March that the vast majority of disposable electronic cigarettes sold in Switzerland did not comply with the law. The quantity of liquid and the level of nicotine exceeded the authorized thresholds according to this organization.
>> See the A Bon Entendeur topic on the dangers of puffs:
Conversion therapies also banned
The Grand Council also agreed Thursday by 107 votes to 21 to ban conversion therapy, practices sometimes accompanied by threats and physical violence, aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Only the UDC refused this text, judging that the mention was “useless, poorly worded and had no place” in the cantonal law, since it concerns “marginal practices”.
In Switzerland, Neuchâtel was the first canton to ban conversion therapy in May 2023. The other French-speaking cantons followed: the bans are already in effect or in the process of being so. The process has also been launched at the federal level. Elsewhere in the world, these practices are prohibited in several countries, notably in France and Germany. Conversion therapy emerged at the end of the 1970s in the United States, before arriving in Europe in the 2000s.
>> Read also: The cantons tackle “conversion therapies” in a scattered manner et Podcast – What is conversion therapy?
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