Vaping devices “puffs”: a ban weakened by circumvention strategies

The ban on disposable puffs, implemented or announced in several countries including the United Kingdom and France, aims to protect young people from nicotine addiction and limit plastic waste. But these efforts are hampered by the adaptability of the tobacco and nicotine industry, which is increasingly circumventing the ban through device engineering or chemical formulation manipulation.

United Kingdom: New devices emerge amid puff ban

Since the UK's ban on disposable e-cigarettes came into effect, several manufacturers have launched new devices claiming to comply with the regulations. These products, however, share some of the same characteristics as puffs, including their compact size, ease of use, and wide range of flavors, which are often popular with younger consumers.

Eliquid Base Company[1] has thus marketed a pre-filled pod kit, presented as a legal alternative to disposable products. Although rechargeable, this device retains an aesthetic and accessibility close to puffs, in a context where regulations aim to limit their appeal.

Additionally, several models delivering a high number of puffs—sometimes up to 3,500—have appeared on the market. These devices, sometimes referred to as "big puff vapes," incorporate large-capacity tanks or combine several 2 ml cartridges, which is the maximum legal limit for nicotine-containing products in the United Kingdom and the European Union. According to some British public health organizations, this development reflects the emergence of industrial strategies that exploit the technical margins of the regulations, without directly violating their terms.[2].

In this context, the regulation of vaping products continues to give rise to debates regarding the adequacy between public health objectives and commercial practices observed on the ground.

In France, hybrid devices maintain the logic of the disposable

Following the announcement of the ban on disposable puffs in France, several brands have introduced new devices to the market that combine elements of traditional e-cigarettes and single-use products. These hybrid formats, while formally meeting certain regulatory requirements, are part of a continuity of use reminiscent of puffs.

A notable example is the device offered by the Wilo brand, which consists of a 2 ml tank – the maximum volume allowed for products containing nicotine – and an additional 10 ml refill that clips onto the device. Once this refill is used up, it is not possible to insert a new one. The entire device, although presented as rechargeable, is designed to be discarded after prolonged use.[3].

This technical configuration makes it possible to offer a product that delivers several thousand puffs, while formally respecting the maximum authorized unit liquid capacity. This type of offer, increasingly visible in distribution channels, raises questions about the evolution of industrial practices in response to the regulation of disposable products.

The distribution of these models takes place in a context where French regulations, while setting precise technical thresholds, do not always define the functional or usage criteria that would allow a rechargeable device to be clearly distinguished from a single-use product with an extended lifespan.

A new chemical frontier: 6-methyl-nicotine, an emerging substance on the market

Alongside the technical developments in devices, another trend is emerging around the chemical formulations used in e-liquids. Since the beginning of 2025, products containing 6-methyl-nicotine (also known as Metatine) have been identified on the French and Swiss markets. This synthetic molecule, structurally similar to nicotine, is said to have similar, or even more intense, effects, according to commercial descriptions.

Some manufacturers use this substance to offer devices that claim to be "nicotine-free," while promoting a sensation equivalent to that provided by high levels of conventional nicotine. Labels such as "0 mg (nicotine effect at 5 %)" or "NoNic 20 mg effect" appear on the packaging of certain products, creating potential confusion regarding their actual composition and addictive potential.

This development raises several regulatory issues. 6-methyl-nicotine[4], as a substance not explicitly covered by current texts on vaping products, escapes obligations in terms of labeling, health warnings, limitation of concentrations, or even advertising bans.

Its growing presence in points of sale, combined with the absence of a clear legal framework, calls into question the capacity of current regulatory tools to anticipate or regulate the emergence of new psychoactive substances in vaping products.

This phenomenon is part of a broader dynamic of chemical innovation within the industry, where the partial or total substitution of nicotine by other compounds makes it possible to circumvent certain legal constraints while maintaining strong commercial attractiveness.

An industrial model based on regulatory avoidance

These various cases observed in the United Kingdom and France reveal a constant: the ability of tobacco and nicotine manufacturers to subvert the spirit of regulations by exploiting their gray areas. Whether it's limited-use devices that don't say their name, or substitute molecules that escape existing legal definitions, the objective remains the same: to maintain an attractive, affordable, and available offering, particularly for younger audiences.

These industrial strategies highlight the limits of regulation based solely on the technical characteristics of products, without integrating a global analysis of uses, effects and commercial intentions.

To remain effective, anti-vaping policies must evolve toward a more systemic approach, public health experts remind us. This requires strengthening regulatory monitoring capacity, anticipating new business practices, better regulating emerging formulations, and ensuring that public health objectives take precedence over the economic interests of a constantly evolving sector.

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Eliquid Base Launches Compliant Prefilled Pod Kit as Legal Alternative to Banned Disposable Vapes in the UK, Global Newswire, published August 3, 2025, accessed August 5, 2025

[2] Olivia Christie, How new rechargeable vapes could bypass law amid government crackdown to 'ban single-use cigarettes by next summer', Dailymail, published October 24, 2024, accessed August 5, 2025

[3] Point-of-sale advertising barometers, CNCT, consulted on August 5, 2025

[4] Press release, The CNCT warns about the use of a new addictive molecule used by the tobacco industry: 6-Methyl-nicotine, CNCT, published May 26, 2025, accessed August 5, 2025