1.[responsivevoice voice = “US English Female” buttontext = “”]French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has said that disposable vapes will soon be banned in the country as part of a national anti-smoking plan. Borne, speaking on RTL radio, did not say when the ban would begin.[/responsivevoice]
2.[responsivevoice voice = “US English Female” buttontext = “”]She said the government would soon be announcing more information about its anti-smoking plan. Smoking is the cause of 75,000 deaths a year in the country, she added. The plan will include a ban on disposable vapes, which she said “are giving bad habits to young people.”[/responsivevoice]
3.[responsivevoice voice = “US English Female” buttontext = “”]E-cigarettes have been thought of as a good way to help adult smokers to stop smoking cigarettes.[/responsivevoice]
4.[responsivevoice voice = “US English Female” buttontext = “”]But Borne thinks that when young people begin to use vapes, they are more likely to start smoking. According to data from 2022, more than half of the 17-year-olds in France have tried a vape.[/responsivevoice]
5.[responsivevoice voice = “US English Female” buttontext = “”]Eurostat data from 2019 found that among countries in the European Union, French people vaped the most. And the use of vapes among young people has been increasing across Europe.[/responsivevoice]
6.[responsivevoice voice = “US English Female” buttontext = “”]Experts say that vaping is much less harmful than smoking but that we still do not know the long-term effects.[/responsivevoice]
[responsivevoice voice = “US English Female” buttontext = “”](1)What are your thoughts on France’s plan to ban disposable vapes? Would you support a similar ban in your country?
(2)What do you think are the main reasons people start smoking?
(3)What would you do if you caught your teenage kid smoking or vaping?[/responsivevoice]