A mystery shopper survey by Que Choisir confirms the laxity of the sale of puffs to minors

The UFC-Que Choisir association equipped teenagers aged 12 to 14 with a hidden camera to test the sale of disposable e-cigarettes (puffs) to minors. Three-quarters of tobacconists agreed to sell puffs to these minors.

With or without nicotine, the sale of e-cigarettes to minors is prohibited in France. Despite tobacconists' claims that they monitor customers' ages, violations in this area are nevertheless very common, particularly for disposable e-cigarettes—also known as "puffs."

In order to verify the reality of these sales, the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir commissioned 5th grade students^th and 4^th aged 12 to 14 to buy puffs, equipping them with a hidden camera[1].

Sales of puffs to minors observed in tobacco shops and night grocery stores

A dozen points of sale of the 11^th and 12^th arrondissement of Paris were visited by these young mystery shoppers. Among them, three-quarters of the tobacco shops agreed to sell them puffs. The stores specializing in vaping, however, all refused to sell.

Since puffs are currently sold in all types of outlets, including supermarkets, other stores were also tested. Two of the three late-night grocery stores offering puffs agreed to sell them. The Gifi chain, which was one of the first to market puffs, now requires ID and has refused to sell them. Most of the puffs obtained did not contain nicotine, but several did, including one with a concentration of 20 mg/ml.

A limited but revealing investigation

Que Choisir acknowledges that its survey is very limited and not scientific, particularly given the small sample size. However, it does have the merit of drawing attention to the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, which is currently poorly documented. The CNCT's more extensive work on the sale of tobacco to minors, carried out on a representative sample of tobacconists, has shown that 64% of tobacconists agree to sell cigarettes to minors.[2]This proportion rises to 77 % when it comes to tobacconists operating in towns with more than 15,000 inhabitants – a proportion similar to that of the Que Choisir survey.

Whether it's the sale of tobacco or e-cigarettes to minors, legislation is generally not respected due to the lack of controls and dissuasive penalties. Public authorities now appear more determined to strengthen these controls. "There must be sanctions if there is a sale to minors.", recently declared the Minister of Health, François Braun, questioned by France Inter on the possible prohibition disposable electronic cigarettes[3].

Keywords: puffs, disposable e-cigarettes, sales to minors, tobacconists.

MF

[1] Oudin E, Puffs E-Cigarettes (Hidden Camera) - Prohibited for Minors, Really?, Que Choisir, published May 24, 2023, consulted May 30, 2023.

[2] CNCT, Two-thirds of tobacconists sell tobacco to minors in France, a damning observation, published March 10, 2022, accessed May 30, 2023.

[3] Health: François Braun is "in favor of banning puffs," disposable electronic cigarettes, France Info, published May 3, 2023, consulted May 30, 2023.