Minister Leszczyna: E-cigarettes, alcohol. “We want to change pathological regulations”
I want to promote a lifestyle free from stimulants, I am in favor of limiting the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, but this must be done gradually, without revolution. However, where the regulations are pathological, they must be changed. Selling flavored e-cigarettes to children, selling alcohol at gas stations, especially at night, are pathologies – said the Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna during a meeting with journalists.
The Ministry of Health is preparing regulations that will prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to children and young people under 18, including those that do not contain nicotine. This applies to both disposable and reusable e-cigarettes. In Poland, there is a ban on the sale of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes or refill containers with nicotine liquid to people under 18, but it is not often observed.
Ban on selling flavored e-cigarettes to children and adolescents
– This is a matter for the relevant services and inspections; children and young people under 18 are not allowed to sell cigarettes and e-cigarettes containing nicotine. The confusion is caused by the appearance of cigarettes without nicotine, in various flavours. I am not able to say who could have come up with the idea that children could smoke something that looks like an e-cigarette but pretends to be, for example, a watermelon – said Minister Izabela Leszczyna.
The lack of a ban on the sale of nicotine-free e-cigarettes is a loophole that results in young people also being sold e-cigarettes containing nicotine, and in many cases it is difficult to determine what a given product actually contains.
The Minister of Health announced that a draft law banning the sale of electronic cigarettes, including those without nicotine, both disposable and reusable, to children and young people under the age of 18 will soon be submitted for public consultation. – The introduction of nicotine-free cigarettes has caused some confusion and a relaxation of the discipline of sellers, which is why we want to say clearly: if someone is under 18, they cannot buy any innovative product that is an e-cigarette or pretends not to be a cigarette – Minister Leszczyna noted.
Higher prices for cigarettes and alcohol
The Minister of Health also said that she is in favor of limiting the availability of alcohol and cigarettes: both in terms of the place of purchase (e.g. alcohol) and price (cigarettes and alcohol).
The Ministry of Health is preparing regulations that will prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to children and young people under 18, including those that do not contain nicotine. This applies to both disposable and reusable e-cigarettes. In Poland, there is a ban on the sale of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes or refill containers with nicotine liquid to people under 18, but it is not often observed.
Prohibition of sale to children and adolescents
– This is a matter for the relevant services and inspections; children and young people under 18 are not allowed to sell cigarettes and e-cigarettes containing nicotine. The confusion is caused by the appearance of cigarettes without nicotine, in various flavours. I am not able to say who could have come up with the idea that children could smoke something that looks like a cigarette but pretends to be, for example, a watermelon – said Minister Izabela Leszczyna.
She announced that a draft law banning the sale of electronic cigarettes, both disposable and reusable, to children and young people under the age of 18 will soon be submitted for public consultation. – The introduction of nicotine-free cigarettes has caused some confusion and a relaxation of the discipline of sellers, which is why we want to state unequivocally: if someone is under 18, they cannot buy any innovative product that pretends not to be a cigarette – noted Minister Leszczyna.
Higher prices for cigarettes and alcohol
The Minister of Health also said that she is in favor of limiting the availability of alcohol and cigarettes: both in terms of the place of purchase (e.g. alcohol) and price (cigarettes and alcohol)
– I asked the Minister of Finance to increase the excise tax on both alcohol and cigarettes, because in Poland these products are probably the cheapest in the entire EU, especially considering that wages have been rising in recent years, also due to inflation, while the prices of cigarettes and alcohol have remained unchanged – said the Minister of Health.
She noted that she is in favor of limiting access to alcohol also in terms of where it can be purchased. “We already have a draft bill that I promised earlier, namely a ban on the sale of alcohol at petrol stations at night. I will soon be sending it to the government’s design team; I hope it will be accepted,” she announced.
Asked whether the ban on selling alcohol at petrol stations would apply only at night, she noted that for now, yes. – I want to go in small steps, not make a revolution. We want to educate society above all, promote a lifestyle free from stimulants. However, where the regulations are pathological, we want to change them quickly. One such pathology is certainly the possibility of selling alcohol at petrol stations at night, when – as all analyses indicate – it is the highest – the Minister of Health emphasized.
