Cyprus Plans To Ban E-cigarettes To Tackle Youth Addiction Crisis

Cyprus plans to ban e-cigarettes to tackle youth addiction crisis

The Cyprus Parliamentary Health Committee stressed the serious harm of e-cigarettes to young people, especially in primary schools, and called for immediate measures to curb their unreasonable use and sales.

According to Cyprus- Mail on July 4, on Thursday (4th), the Cyprus Parliamentary Health Committee pointed out that e-cigarettes are particularly harmful to young people, prompting lawmakers to promise to take immediate action to curb "irrational use and sales of e-cigarettes."

The chairman of the committee, Efthymios Diplaros, said,

"The alarm bell has been sounded and we must act immediately."

Health Minister Michael Damianos called on all relevant departments and organizations to submit their positions.

After the meeting, when asked about measures against e-cigarettes, Damianos said that this is a complex issue and the opinions of all stakeholders are needed to proceed.

"You understand that smoking cannot be banned overnight."

Regarding the issue of e-cigarettes in primary schools, the minister clarified that "nicotine and e-cigarettes are two different things."

Diplaros expressed shock at the concerns raised. "We all have children and we know how easy it is to get access to tobacco products." He suggested a special committee be formed from the parliamentary health committee to deal with the issue.