The Puff is a disposable electronic mini-cigarette with sweet tastes and is dangerous for your health. The Alliance Against Tobacco calls for its ban to avoid “a pediatric epidemic of nicotine addiction”. Answers and dangers with Dr Frédéric Le Guillou, pulmonologist.
[Mis à jour le 25 octobre 2022 à 17h50] There “puff” is a mini disposable electronic cigarette (non-refillable) diffusing sweet flavors (watermelon, melon, frozen peach…). It is increasingly popular in France among young people and teens while she is prohibited for sale to minors. “2/3 of adolescents aged 13 to 16 years old have ever heard of the Puff and 13% of them have already used it, i.e. the same proportion of young people who have already smoked a conventional or electronic cigarette” says the Alliance Against Tobacco (ACT) in a study published on October 25. “Among teenagers using the Puff, 28% of them started their initiation to nicotine through this product and 17% of them then turned to another form of nicotine or tobacco product“. “The ban on the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes in France is the right decision to take if we do not wish to see accelerate this pediatric epidemic of nicotine addiction” declared the doctor Loïc Josseran, President of the ACT-Alliance against tobacco. This product appeared in 2019 in UNITED STATES. He was created by two Californians, Patrick Beltran and Nick Minas, co-CEO of Puff Bar. Most containing nicotine, the Puff causes brain damage and increase the addiction risk, like all tobacco products. What is a “Puff”? What is the taste of this cigarette? What are the dangers ? His price ? All about the Puff.
What is a Puff cigarette?
There “puff” is a mini electronic cigarette pre-filled and pre-charged, disposable, diffusing sweet aromas like candy (strawberry, pineapple, grape flavors etc.). We call “puff” a puff, a sudden emission of air (in English). The term comes from the vaporization of an electronic cigaretteas it looks “puff” for a puff emitted by a classic cigarette. The trend was launched in the United States in 2019 and the phenomenon appeared in France, in particular via the social network Tiktok.
What is the composition of a Puff cigarette?
The disposable electronic cigarette consists of a resistance, a battery and e-liquid. The battery heats the coil which in turn heats the vaping liquid. According to the National Food Safety National Agency (handles), the majority of e-liquids declared on the French market are composed of a dilution medium such as propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerinsometimes water and ethanolof the nicotine and taste-imparting substances (vanillin, maltol, menthol, esters with fruity smells). We also find sugars and sweeteners (glucose/fructose, sucralose), acids used in nicotine salts and plant extracts.
What does the Puff taste like?
different sweet flavors are offered for cigarettes”puff“: red fruits, mango, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, frozen peach, marshmallow etc…
“The great danger is the risk that non-smokers will start smoking and become addicted to nicotine”
Is the Puff cigarette dangerous for health?
The puff has harmful effects on health since it contains nicotine: “The great danger of these products is the risk that non-smokers start smoking, that they become addicted to nicotineand then start smoking real cigarettes addiction“explains Dr. Frédéric Le Guillou, pulmonologist. “Among teenagers using the Puff, 28% of them started their initiation to nicotine through this product and 17% of them then turned to another form of nicotine or tobacco product” says the Alliance Against Tobacco (ACT) in a study published on October 25. “Composed of nicotine salts, the use of the Puff increases the risks of developing iinflammation of the respiratory tract and impacts cognitive acquisitions of the youngest“adds the ACT. In addition “Puff electronic cigarettes are flavored and that this is used as a marketing argument. Whileit is not known what these aromas contain“. immediately warns Dr. Frédéric Le Guillou, pulmonologist. These devices are the subject of a reporting to the General Directorate of Health (DGS) by the Fivape, vape professionals. Furthermore, you cannot control the quality of the e-liquid integrated into the disposable electronic cigarette.
Is there nicotine in the Puff?
Most puffs contain nicotine, legally up to 2% nicotine or 20mg/ml. “The main danger is the addiction to nicotine that it will trigger since these devices will deliver, in the majority of cases, a significant dose of nicotine“, warns Loïc Josserand, president of the Alliance Against Tobacco. “If this product is taken for several months, there is a 100% chance of becoming addicted to nicotine. It’s very clear” confirms Amine Benyamina, head of the psychiatry and addictology department. There are also versions of disposable electronic cigarettes without nicotine.
What is the price of a Puff?
Electronic vapers”puff” are sold between 8 and 12 euros. These disposable cigarettes are available at tobacconists but also in some supermarkets and on the Internet. “The sale to minors, of these products [les Puff]like any vaping product, is forbidden“ recalls the Ministry of Health.
Thank you to Dr Frédéric Le Guillou, pulmonologist and President of the Respiratory Health Association of France.
Source : The Ministry of Solidarity and Health attentive to “Puff” type vaping products and compliance with legal obligations concerning advertising and sale to minors, March 17, 2022.
Vaping products, ANSES, 23 October 2020