French authorities are gearing up to ban disposable vapes as part of a national plan to combat smoking, The Guardian quoted the French prime minister as saying.

PM Élisabeth Borne told the broadcaster RTL that the government would “soon present a new national plan to fight against smoking with, in particular, the prohibition of disposable electronic cigarettes, the famous ‘puffs’ which give bad habits to young people”.

The French government in its 2024 budget plan to reduce smoking which the French PM said was the cause of 75,000 deaths a year in the country.

However, Born said that the government is not planning to hike the tax on cigarettes, saying “But that does not mean we are not vigilant about tobacco consumption.”

She was of the view that disposable vapes, known as “puffs are a gateway to smoking.

Borne believed that cigarettes with flavours target teenagers as different flavours such as ice candy, marshmallow and bubblegum attract them to smoking.

Other European countries are also looking at options to ban flavoured cigarettes as Belgium imposed a ban on online sales while Ireland is delving into prohibiting the consumption of the vapes.

The German government has banned flavoured e-cigarettes, warning this can only be a start and further action could be taken.

Australia and New Zealand have also taken similar steps to curb the smoking of e-cigarettes.

Teenagers who use e-cigarettes are up to five times more likely to start smoking compared with those who do not, an Irish research showed.

According to data released last year, smoking prevalence in New Zealand had dropped to 8% – one of the lowest in the world. However, the rise in daily vape users was larger than the drop in daily smokers.