"Vaping: Behind the Taste, a Lie": a fictional investigation into the rise of the electronic cigarette

November 19, 2025

Par: National Committee Against Smoking

Dernière mise à jour: November 18, 2025

Temps de lecture: 5 minutes

In early October 2025, the graphic novel "Vaping: Behind the Taste, the Lie," written by Guillaume Coudray and illustrated by Émilie Dambreville, was published by Des ronds dans l'O. The book, which combines a fictional narrative with an investigation based on documentary sources, follows two 15-year-olds, Jérémie and Maëlys, as they question the growing popularity of e-cigarettes among young people and the continued use of "puffs," disposable e-cigarettes that are banned in France. Their investigation leads them to observe that some products seem designed to attract non-smokers, particularly through the use of sweet or fruity flavors. The authors aim to raise awareness among young people, parents, teachers, and public authorities about a nicotine product that remains highly accessible and is heavily promoted by the industry, and they call for the adoption and implementation of strong measures to counter this aggressive and toxic marketing.

A book to raise awareness and call for vigilance against the industry's commercial strategies

Throughout their journey, the two characters uncover the marketing and communication strategies employed to promote e-cigarettes. Using current media such as the internet, videos, and podcasts, the duo investigates to understand the issues behind the disinformation campaigns orchestrated by the vaping industry and to identify the risks of these products, which particularly target young people.

The focus is on the manipulative power of the tobacco industry, transformed into the nicotine industry, through its marketing strategies. The use of trendy codes, attractive colors and flavors, and connected products aims to expand the vaping market by targeting potential consumers such as teenagers and even children. Presented as an aid to smoking cessation, the marketing campaigns are indeed aimed at a young, non-smoking audience. According to the 2024 results of the ESPAD survey, published by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT), 38 of the 3,376 French adolescents aged 16 interviewed reported having already vaped, 16 reported having vaped in the month preceding the survey and nearly 6 vaped daily.

The comic book showcases an informed, connected youth, eager to develop their critical thinking skills in the face of manipulation, through two protagonists who want to make their voices heard using every available means of communication (television, social media, banners, etc.), demonstrating that citizens can be the first line of defense in the fight against the nicotine industry and its influence strategies. Readers can visit the websites consulted by the characters themselves, using URLs and QR codes to access the sources mentioned and share them.

A call to strengthen public health policies protecting youth

Guillaume Coudray, an investigative journalist and Sciences Po graduate, has been working on health issues for over fifteen years. He is notably the author of several investigations published by La Découverte. Interviewed by France Inter on November 12, 2025[1], He denounced the aggressive marketing surrounding flavored e-cigarettes or "puffs." Banned from sale in France since February 26, 2025, these devices, "« with fruity and sweet aromas »" And "« candy flavors »"designed to attract children, continue to circulate and be sold illegally.

Guillaume Coudray thus emphasizes the importance of "« to promote critical thinking about vaping. The aim is for teachers to be able to use the album. Vaping. Behind the taste, the lie to make it a tool for liberation. The public needs to understand what they are becoming victims of when they vape these seemingly harmless vaporizers.. ». He recalls that in 2013, the patent for the electronic cigarette was sold to Fontem Ventures, a Dutch company« which belongs to the tobacco industry »"(Imperial Tobacco), allowing cigarette manufacturers to create« new addictions ".

" Many countries, including in Europe, have formally banned these puffs. But unfortunately, they continue to be sold in France.. […] It is urgent to take regulatory, legislative measures, or even to apply police rules so that puff shops and tobacconists fully comply with the law. ".

The CNCT, which commissioned a An investigation by the independent institute Audirep revealed that a third of tobacconists were not complying with the ban on selling tobacco or vaping products to minors., He also warned of the need to implement effective public health policies to protect young people.

Thus, the CNCT supports the extension to vaping products of measures already proven against tobacco, such as the ban on flavours, the introduction of plain packaging for vaping product packaging, the taxation of these products, the control of retail distribution with the ban on online sales as well as the introduction of a license for a limited number of sellers, required to strictly comply with the provisions of the public health code, in particular the ban on sales to minors.

Yves Martinet, president of the CNCT, welcomes the publication of this book which allows us to discover in a fascinating way practices that are too often ignored.