If puffs, these thin electronic cigarettes with a colorful design and candy flavors, worried parents, a little news should scare them even more. Its name: the “9K” or “puff 9,000”, because of the 9,000 puffs it contains (i.e. 15 times more than the previous version). Although it is banned in France, this device containing up to 2% nicotine and equivalent to 18 packs of cigarettes is all the rage outside the doors of middle and high schools.
What does this new industrial discovery consist of, and should we be worried about it? We asked the question to Loïc Josseran, doctor, professor of public health and president of the Alliance Against Tobacco.
How is 9K different from previous puffs?
It has a bigger tank. The 9K therefore allows you to perform 9,000 puffs, compared to 300 or 600 for the first ones. The other difference is that you have to recharge it electronically to reach the end of 9,000. We are no longer dealing with an object that looks like a pen and which can easily be hidden in a pencil case, but with something more visible.
For the rest, it resembles the previous ones with the same anthology of perfumes, each more attractive than the other and the same bright colors. Some actually have lights that turn on and off. Manufacturers are always more inventive.
We really went from mousetrap to wolf trap
Is this XXL puff more dangerous than the miniature versions?
If a teenager chooses a 9K with 2% nicotine, on the entire tank, he will consume more nicotine than in the previous ones because there is more liquid. With those of 300 or 600 puffs, the quantity was limited. When the puff was finished, if you wanted more, you had to buy more. There, you can shoot 9,000 times at once. This is the equivalent of 15 puffs placed next to each other, or 18 packs of cigarettes. We really went from mousetrap to wolf trap. This type of puffs makes kids even more addicted and faster.
Who is this new puff aimed at?
We are seeing an evolution in the consumption of puffs among young people. It is no longer aimed exclusively at very young people with perfumes like “tagada tsoin tsoin” or “licorne”. There are also flavors such as old rum or mojito. The goal is to address consumers who want to emancipate themselves and act more adult. There is a maturation of this sector which is almost growing with its consumers. The first ones started around 10, 11 years old and at 15, 16 years old, they move on to these machines, to 9K. Behind, they will switch to cigarettes.
Does consuming this type of product lead to an entry into “classic” smoking?
In the last study we carried out, we showed that 45% of kids who smoked tobacco had started their nicotine initiation with puff. It’s not nothing. There is a clear desire to attract kids as early as possible. The objective is to be able to sell products to children that will make them addicted and lead them to consume nicotine for years and years. We hit against the first so-called “classic” puff, sold in tobacconists and in vaping stores, and which should soon be banned. With this puff 9,000, they prepared the next move.
9K is banned in France and yet it circulates…
We can see this clearly with these 9,000 puffs: although they are prohibited for sale in tobacconists or vaping stores, teenagers buy them online without any problem. We will therefore have to go further with laws aimed at combating illegal imports. The Evin law is very good but we will have to move to an Evin 2.0 law which focuses on what is purchased on the Internet. The whole point is there.