On September 8th, following the announcement by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes, 2FIRSTS conducted telephone surveys with 10 e-cigarette stores located in Paris, France.
After eliminating the language barrier issue in two of the shops, it was found that four shop employees explicitly confirmed that they had heard of this news.
However, the general consensus among these shops is that prohibiting disposable e-cigarettes will not have a significant impact on their business.
According to Jwell e-cigarette store, they stated that this policy is “very very bad”, but when asked about the response from consumers, they mentioned that there has been no response yet. On the other hand, a staff member from the e-cigarette store, No smoking club, mentioned that their business has not been affected.
Although disposable e-cigarettes have a certain share in the e-cigarette market in France, many shop owners seem to hold a cautious attitude towards this potential ban. They generally believe that there is currently no hoarding phenomenon of e-cigarettes.
In recent years, the French government has been intensifying its regulation of e-cigarettes in order to protect adolescents from the allure of these devices. While the plan to ban disposable e-cigarettes has not been formally implemented yet, this proposal appears to have sparked some mild reactions among e-cigarette shops in France.
The staff of these shops stated that they will closely monitor the government’s decisions and adjust their business models based on changes in regulations. They emphasized the importance of complying with the law and regulations for their business, and expressed their willingness to actively engage with regulatory authorities to ensure the continued healthy development of the e-cigarette industry.
Previously, news of the “French plan to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes” received mixed reactions from netizens on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Half of the users expressed their opposition to the ban in the comments section.
Overseas internet users who support disposable e-cigarettes mainly consider their appeal to minors and the environmental pollution caused by discarded ones. On the other hand, those who oppose disposable e-cigarettes believe that they are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Some argue that disposable e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking traditional cigarettes.
