In the fight against nicotine addiction, the French Ministry of Health has decided to take all the necessary measures.
This means that smoking electronic cigarettes in public places will be prohibited, as well as their advertising and selling them to the teenagers under 18. A similar law, dealing with conventional cigarettes, was introduced in France in 2007.
Marisol Touraine, Minister of Health, believes that smoking electronic cigarettes should be controlled strictly, just as smoking tobacco products.
Touraine adds that people must accept the ban, though not the complete one. For many people, electronic cigarettes are an alternative to tobacco on the way of getting rid of the bad habit.
The given statement has stirred up the global health community again. It does not cease to cause the debate about the degree of harm that a person receives, when smoking electronic cigarettes.
Electronic cigarettes use red diodes, which heat the liquid containing propylene glycol, nicotine and flavorings. These chemicals enter the body through the lungs in the form of gas. The smoker exhales steam, but does not smoke. The advantage of electronic cigarettes is that they do not contain harmful tar and carcinogenic substances, which are present in conventional cigarettes.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the security of electronic cigarettes is scientifically unproven. It is unknown, which risks smoking tobacco substitutes may trigger.
Currently, Colombia, Panama and Uruguay have forbidden electronic cigarettes. Italy prohibits their sale to persons under 18 years.
In his speech, Touraine stresses that people will not consider them safe, and will quit smoking as a result of the measures like banning electronic cigarettes in public places.
