Belgium is authorised by the EU to ban single-use weapons. Now France is expected to follow suit. The ban is intended to prevent young people from vejpa, but is also likely to affect many adults trying to quit smoking.
Belgium has been given the go-ahead to ban the sale of disposable guns. The newspaper reports The Brussels Times. The decision comes from the European Commission, which must approve any ban on products regulated under the European Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). Now France is expected to follow suit, after the French parliament also voted in favour of banning single-use models, the newspaper reports. Euractiv.
Although traditional e-cigarettes are based on the same technology as single-use models, they are not affected by the ban, neither in Belgium nor in France. According to the Belgian Minister of Health, e-cigarettes are also used as a smoking cessation aid. Therefore, they can remain on the market. However, he believes that disposable models attract young people to vejpa.
Popular products - with a black backside
Disposable vapes have exploded in popularity in all EU countries since they entered the market five years ago. A common explanation for this popularity is the availability of e-cigarettes in regular convenience stores, which now sell e-cigarettes alongside regular cigarettes. A disposable cigarette authorised for sale in the EU can contain a maximum of 2 millilitres of e-liquid with a nicotine content of 20 mg per/ml. This corresponds to about two days of normal use - the same as a packet of cigarettes.
At the same time, varying legislation on the products in different countries on a global scale has opened up large black markets. Disposable models that are legal in some countries have become just as easily available in countries with other restrictions. E-cigarettes are sold online, which is often where minors get hold of them.
Many adults use disposable vejps.
According to studies conducted in other countries, such as the UK, which also plans to ban single-use models, a ban is likely to affect a very large number of adult vejp users and smokers. In the UK, single-use devices are used by almost half of the vejp users in the country (about 2 million people), while they are widely used by smokers who are either cutting down on cigarettes or trying to quit smoking altogether.
"We estimate that a ban on disposable vejps in particular would affect 1.2 million Britons who smoke and vejp, perhaps to try to quit smoking, and a further 744,000 who have smoked in the past." noted addiction researcher Sarah Jacksson in sWhen the study was published. "That's over 2 million Britons who currently use disposable vejps, either to quit smoking or to stay smoke-free."
In Belgium, nearly 23 per cent of the adult population.
Pointing to the environment
However, both the Belgian and French governments believe that the ban will reduce use among young people when the products are banned. They also consider the products to be an environmental hazard, as there is currently no established market for recycling the products.
The Belgian ban on single-use vejps is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2025. When the French ban is in place remains to be seen. A process with the European Commission takes at least six months from the submission of the application, according to the magazine Euroaktiv. A British ban could take effect from March next year 2025.
