In just a few years, the Puff, this disposable electronic cigarette, has become the new flagship instrument of the tobacco industry.
Perceived as an alternative to the classic cigarette, it has especially become very popular with younger people.
For younger people, vaping puffs has even become cooler than smoking cigarettes. Terminale student at Lycée Schoelcher, Ismael doesn’t smoke, however, under the influence of his friends, he has already tried puffs.
I was told it tasted good so I tried it, that’s all
For the Dr Myriam El Maamar, general practitioner and addictologist at CHUMthis trend is not trivial.
The tobacco industry is creating new products that increasingly target the young population, making them much more attractive. Accessibility is so simple even though, paradoxically, it is prohibited for minors
What are the reasons for this craze? Its taste (strawberry, mango, watermelon, etc.) and the playful side provided by the cloud of steam.
Sales techniques, far from traditional stores
Far from traditional stores, young people who want to get puffs have a completely different method, much more discreet, as they explain to us.
There are people who put it in their Instagram story or WhatsApp status and say it’s for sale, putting their number. As a result, interested young people contact the number and have it delivered
But is the puff safe for their health?
Unlike cigarettes, PUFFs do not cause cardiovascular diseases linked to carbon monoxide. Their main health danger lies in their high addictive potential, as Dr El Maamar explains.
This leads to a gateway to addiction. In relation to the presence of nicotine, a person who has never smoked can become dependent on nicotine and therefore lead to an addiction which is a risk factor for leading to new dependencies after, cigarettes, cannabis. There is also the gesture, which is close to smoking cigarettes. What is problematic is for people who have never smoked and who start using this tool. For smokers who want to quit or reduce, the e-cigarette is an interesting tool, which we can talk about in consultation because studies have shown that it brings 95% less risk than smoking cigarettes.
In January, the Senate adopted a text prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, distribution or free offer” of single-use vaping devices.
The senators considered that the “puffs” did indeed represent “a risk for the health of adolescents…but also for the environment”.
TO LISTEN What the teenagers think (Ina Moune, Nathan, Raphael and Ismaël).
