The Polish government has not banned e-cigarettes altogether but has raised the age requirement for purchase, which has drawn significant public attention to the issue.
According to a July 9 report in Polish media
According to a July 9 report in Polish media, the Polish government has not yet decided to ban vapes altogether. In February, Poland’s Health Ministry announced plans to completely ban the sale of disposable e-cigarette products by the summer, but the ban has not yet been immediately implemented. The government has only raised the legal age for purchasing the sweet euphoric drug, which has caused great public concern.
Suspend the ban on single-use vapes
More than 100 million disposable vapes were sold in Poland last year, and more than 90 percent of disposable vapes are flavored with fruits, beverages, or desserts, most of which contain smoke tar. These e-cigarettes largely come from China. Which has banned the sale of such products because of their potential appeal to children.
Wojciech Konieczny, deputy health minister, said: “For disposable vapes, I think only a strict ban will succeed. Otherwise, manufacturers will take advantage of loopholes in laws and regulations and fail to achieve the desired effect.” Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna added that the use of disposable flavored vapes by Polish teenagers has been described as a “plague”. She added that the ban follows an EU directive banning the heating of cigarettes containing flavors such as menthol.
However, what recently appeared on the Polish government’s website was not a ban. But a restriction on the sale of disposable e-cigarettes that do not contain nicotine. The Ministry of Health wants these products to be available only to people over the age of 18, as is the case with nicotine-containing products. However, the Market Monitoring Center points out that the market share of “zero-tar” e-cigarettes is very small, with the majority of sales being of products containing smoked tar, and that the ministry’s new proposal addresses only part of the problem.
According to a study by the Polish Society for the Advancement of Medicine, more than 37% of adolescents admit to smoking or using e-cigarettes; the Polish Ombudsman for Children. Monika Horna-Cieślak has called for urgent action to ensure the health of children and adolescents and for a statement on the ban on the sale of flavored, disposable e-cigarettes in Poland. This aroused public interest and concern about the issue.
