Nearly half of students (48%) admit to smoking e-cigarettes every day. Experts even talk about a pandemic of addiction to disposables among Polish teenagers. The crew of the “Attention!” program TVN conducted a journalistic provocation, which shows that people selling such products do not even ask about the age of their customers. Meanwhile, popular disposables can pose a serious threat to the health of young people.
In 2023 alone, 100 million disposable e-cigarettes were sold. According to the report “Cigarette smoking and vaping – a study of school youth”, nearly half of students (48%) admit to smoking e-cigarettes every day, and every fifth (21%) smokes disposable cigarettes because of their taste and smell. Every third student uses a disposable cartridge in just one day. It's like smoking three packs of traditional cigarettes a day. At the same time, young people have no problem purchasing such e-cigarettes. They are cheap and easily available on the Internet.
“Attention!” TVN conducted a journalistic provocation
Journalists “Attention!” TVN decided to check what the process of buying e-cigarettes online looks like. For this purpose, they conducted a journalistic provocation in which – with the consent of her parents – a 16-year-old girl participated. They wanted to find out whether anyone offering e-cigarettes for sale would ask about the teenager's age before making the transaction.
– There was no question about ID. I paid him, he gave it to me and that was the end of the conversation, says the teenager. It turned out that the cigarette she bought was illegal in Poland and contained more than twice the permissible concentration of nicotine. In the next place where the provocation was carried out, the situation repeated itself.
Information “Attention!” TVN, which sells such products, told journalists what the e-cigarette market in Poland looks like. He admitted that three quarters of his clients were young people under 18 years of age, and his youngest client may have been 14 years old. – Just select a product online and send a message. I guess that's the fashion. They are colorful, flavorful and do not smell like cigarettes – he says. When asked if he knows what is in the products he sells, he replies that he has “no idea.” – Nobody knows how it affects health – he adds.
Experts warn: E-cigarettes are chemicals that destroy the body
Meanwhile, experts emphasize that the substances contained in e-cigarettes are chemicals that are addictive and destroy the body, especially in young people. – The vaping pandemic (i.e. smoking disposable e-cigarettes – ed.) is getting out of control. It is a sign of the times, currently the biggest problem in the area of addictions – says Jagoda Władoń-Wilecka, a specialist in addiction psychotherapy and director of the Monar center in Wyszków.
Prof. Katarzyna Krenke, whose ward treats teenagers with serious complications after using e-cigarettes, admits that “these patients are often admitted to intensive care units.” – And it must be clearly stated that in some of these people this disease ends in death – he emphasizes.
According to prof. Katarzyna Koziak, head of the biochemistry laboratory at the Medical University of Warsaw, such products may lead to the development of cancer in the long run. The sucralose present in them, when heated, releases, among others: chlorine, which is a toxic substance.
The ministry is determined to introduce a ban
The number of smokers in Poland has been increasing for several years, and e-cigarettes contribute to this. Last year, approximately one hundred million pieces of used disposable plastic bags were bought and then thrown away in Poland.
A few days ago, the Minister of Health, Izabela Leszczyna, announced that her ministry is working on a law banning disposable e-cigarettes. – April is definitely the date (when they will be banned – ed.) – she said. Deputy Minister of Health Wojciech Konieczny, in turn, emphasized that the Ministry of Health is determined to introduce such a ban. – The solutions could also include a ban on placing disposable e-cigarettes or heaters for substances that do not contain tobacco on the market – he said.
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