According to Polish media reports on July 9, the Polish government has not yet decided to completely ban electronic cigarettes. In February this year, the Polish Ministry of Health announced plans to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarette products by the summer, but so far, the ban is not immediately implemented, the government only raised the legal age to buy such sweet stimulants, which caused great concern.
Last year, more than 100 million disposable e-cigarettes were sold in Poland, and more than 90 percent of disposable e-cigarettes had a fruit, beverage or sweet taste, and the vast majority contained nicotine. Almost all of these e-cigarettes come from China, which has banned the sale of such products because of their potential appeal to children.
Deputy Health Minister Wojciech Konieczny said: “For single-use e-cigarettes, I think only a strict ban can be successful. Otherwise, manufacturers will take advantage of loopholes in the regulations, which will not have the desired effect.” Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna called the use of disposable flavored e-cigarettes by Polish teenagers a “plague,” adding that the ban is in line with an EU directive banning tobacco heated inserts that contain flavorings such as menthol.
However, the recent appearance on the Polish government website is not a ban, but a restriction on the sale of disposable e-cigarettes that do not contain nicotine. The Department of Health wants these products to be available only to people over the age of 18, like nicotine-containing products, however, the market monitoring Center points out that the market share of “zero nicotine” e-cigarettes is small, the majority of sales are nicotine-containing products, and the department of Health’s new proposal only addresses part of the problem.
A study conducted by the Polish Society for the Promotion of Medicine showed that more than 37 percent of teenagers admitted to smoking or using e-cigarettes; Poland’s children’s Ombudsman, Monika Horna-Cie lak, called for urgent action to protect the health of children and youth and was asked to address the ban on the sale of flavored disposable e-cigarettes in Poland. This has sparked public concern and concern about the issue.