Bordeaux: how the disposable e-cigarette, dosed in nicotine, invades colleges


Dultra-colorful packaging, very sweet flavors like frosted banana, red fruits, coconut pineapple or even marshmallow. Landed in the United States, the “Puffbar” or electronic cigarette, has spread, since the fall, like wildfire in France. In particular thanks to the influencers who gave him a hell of a promotion on Tik-Tok: you know, the favorite social network of young people. Even the low-cost brand Gifi now sells them. “The product is positioned in front of checkouts with a…

Dultra-colorful packaging, very sweet flavors like frosted banana, red fruits, coconut pineapple or even marshmallow. Landed in the United States, the “Puffbar” or electronic cigarette, has spread, since the fall, like wildfire in France. In particular thanks to the influencers who gave him a hell of a promotion on Tik-Tok: you know, the favorite social network of young people. Even the low-cost brand Gifi now sells them. “The product is positioned in front of boxes with a sign ”Sale prohibited to minors””, says the group to “Sud Ouest”.

“We get delivered and we pay in cash”

For 8 to 12 euros, these latest generation vaps – with a rate of 0 to 1.7% nicotine – contain 300 to 600 puffs of fruity flavors. It’s simple, beautiful, inexpensive. And it affects (mainly) teenagers and pre-teens. Bastien, 15, in front of his college: “I save a lot of money compared to cigarettes. And then, when I get home, I don’t smell the ashtray. Problem, like all electronic cigarettes, disposable ones are prohibited for minors. Finally, on paper, because the reality is very different. As proof, 34% of third-grade students have already tried an e-cigarette, according to a study published in early January by the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT).

To obtain these famous “puffs”, nothing is rocket science: the stocks of these brands flow under the coat, via social networks (Snapchat and Instagram). “We find everything. We’re just sending a message. The next day, we have it delivered and we pay in cash”, explains Romain, 15 years old. Purchases are also made in newsagents that do not require any identification (“Sud Ouest” took the test several times with a third-grade student, left and right banks). Perfectly confirming a survey by the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT) according to which tobacconists do not check the identity card in one out of five cases.

No (yet) alert in establishments

“If checks were carried out, 85 to 90% of tobacconists and e-shops would close”

“We know how to put completely stupid rules on electronic cigarettes and we turn a blind eye to certain others,” says the manager of a vaping shop in Bordeaux. He continues, words tinged with questioning: “What is the DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention) doing? Because if checks were carried out, 85 to 90% of tobacconists and e-shops would close. Another abounds: “The public authorities are more in the observation than in the action. Contacted, the DGCCRF did not respond.

Are adults sounding the alarm? As reported by “Le Parisien” (January 13 edition), in the XIXand district of Paris, a principal expressed concern about this new craze in an email: “Several students obtain these cigarettes and introduce them to college. They are available everywhere, ”warns this email. In Bordeaux, on the other hand, no message of this type would have been sent for the time being. “This phenomenon is not obvious,” said the principal of the Cassignol college.

“We are not stupid. We eat our puff with friends in the parks, when our parents are away, but never in the yard or the toilets, ”underlines Alice, 14 years old. Asked, the FCPE and the rectorate did not respond.

A bad move for the planet

Plastic, lithium battery, e-liquid tank… From an environmental point of view, these “puffs” are deplorable. And then, if this product is disposable, it is still necessary not to get rid of it in the wrong place. On Instagram, young people bluntly advise throwing it in the “yellow” trash can. ” Red card. Obviously, the discreet crossed-out dustbin pictogram printed on the packaging is not enough.

“It’s super polluting and it gives a bad image of steam to the general public”

On this question, are the brands playing the game beyond their marketing certainly intended for minors? Liquideo, for example, tells “Sud Ouest” that it has set up a “recycling program to encourage consumers to bring their used Wpuffs back to the store or send them directly to us so that we can recycle them. Many partner sales outlets – around fifteen in Bordeaux including tobacco – already have this recycling box. »


This is what the recycling box looks like at the Liquideo brand.

Liquideo

Committed, some shops in the Gironde capital assume not to sell them for an ecological reason. “Even if a lot of young people ask me for it,” underlines the manager of Taklope Store. “It’s super polluting and it gives a bad image of steam to the general public. “Betting that this phenomenon” will break the mouth in the year. »



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