“Tu me repasses ta puff, steup?” 11:30 am, this Thursday morning in front of the Anne-Sophie Pic hotel and tourism school, in Toulon. Nathan, 17, shoots several “taffes” of a strawberry-flavored disposable electronic cigarette then returns it to his “buddy” Gabriel, 16. Between two classes, it has become a routine for the two teenagers. “I tasted puff in fifth grade, when I was already smoking shisha”says the youngest, also addicted to cigarettes.
He wants to be a cook in the army and knows that his addiction to tobacco will be a brake. “I would like to stop completely, he continues. Suddenly, I puff more and more. It helps me. I had almost succeeded during the holidays.” Suffice to say that Nathan, who digs into his lunch budget to finance his addiction, does not understand why the Minister of Health wants to ban this electronic cigarette at less than 9 euros, already prohibited for minors. Same for Nathan, for whom a puff loaded with 0.8 mg of nicotine salt lasts him 3-4 days.
Easy to bypass controls
How are they supplied? “One time out of two”, they are not asked for their identity card when they go to one of the tobacco shops in the area. “Sometimes we just give 2003 as the year of birth and it’s okay“, laughs the future florist, who does not really look like a major with his never shaved mustache.
A few meters away, he introduces us to a group of five girlfriends. Two are regular “puffeuses”. Irina, 17, fell into tobacco at age 9, “while flirting with an 11 year old boyfriend“. She quit for three years, then started stealing her mother’s cigarettes. And never stopped once more. So puffs, she was ‘among the first to test’ in 2021.”Not strong enough“for this high school girl.”As there is less nicotine, it only lasts me a day, notes the one who takes 500 fruity breaths in 24 hours. Whereas I had a packet of cigarettes, I have enough for three days.”
No matter the environmental impact, Lucia, 17, got down to it last year. Before also consuming “classic cigarettes”, that she grills “five to six times a day”. “It damages the lungs more, but I still prefer cigarettes“, she confides. The typical pattern feared by health professionals, who warn of the dangers of disposable cigarettes with flashy colors and various tastes. Even those with zero nicotine. Nathan adds: “It’s hard not to smoke. Look, here, everyone smokes. Instead of banning puffs, they should lower the price instead!”
