A look back at the vaping phenomenon in France

Since 2010, the electronic cigarette has been competing with tobacco in France, and it quickly became an alternative to the conventional cigarette. A look back at ten years of this phenomenon.

A survey of vapers themselves

Sébastien Béziau, a vaper and blogger at Vap’You, ran a survey on vaping over the past ten years. It was after the 2019 controversy in the United States that he set out to gather the views of French vapers on a range of subjects. Here is a point-by-point summary.

The regulation of e-liquids

The limit of 10 ml on e-liquid bottles only came in in 2016. Before that, the volume could go up to a litre and each vaper could then add between 10 and 20% concentrated flavourings to obtain the taste they wanted.

Removing that limit would, according to the respondents, be far better value and would keep vapers away from do-it-yourself mixing, which can be risky for the uninitiated, even if experienced users find it straightforward.

The cap on nicotine strength

Today the nicotine content of a bottle cannot exceed 20 mg per litre. According to the vapers surveyed, removing that ceiling would help smokers move away from nicotine. They also regard nicotine as natural and, in their view, not dangerous, so a higher dose would in their eyes pose no problem.

Advertising and vaping?

The e-cigarette is treated as a tobacco-related product and is therefore subject to all the same restrictions. Advertising is banned, whatever the medium. The vapers surveyed consider the electronic cigarette to be a genuine help in stopping smoking, and for that reason the ban does not strike them as legitimate, all the more so since advertising for alcohol remains.

Allowing the sale of electronic cigarettes to under-18s

The government is opposed to selling electronic cigarettes to minors. The vapers surveyed believe the ban should apply only to under-16s: many young people, they argue, become dependent on tobacco, and in their view this could help them out of it.

How the French view vaping

On the whole, the French remain very positive about the electronic cigarette, despite the controversies that have surrounded it.