Polish Health Ministry Plans to Ban Unregulated Disposable E-cigarettes

Key points:

• The Polish Ministry of Health plans to ban the sale of unregulated disposable e-cigarettes in order to protect public health. The proposal will be reviewed after the presidential election.
• Journalist Malgorzata Soltysek believes that this policy is easier to push through because it does not involve any controversial issues with local manufacturers.
• Scholar Marek Kegierski is concerned that the bill may be delayed due to influence from outside interest groups.

According to a report by Tokfm on March 25, the Polish Ministry of Health has introduced a legislative proposal to ban the sale of unregulated disposable e-cigarettes. This decision was announced by Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna, who stated that the government will review this proposal after the third quarter of the 2025 presidential election.

The Ministry of Health pointed out that e-cigarettes pose a threat to public health, and this measure is aimed at protecting the public, especially minors.

In the discussions, Małgorzata Solecka, journalist for the website "Practical Medicine" and the monthly magazine "Health Service," is optimistic about this project. She believes that the policy is easier to promote because it involves imported products and does not involve controversies surrounding protecting local manufacturers.

“Europe is also moving in this direction. E-cigarettes that have not been adequately tested could indeed pose significant risks, especially among adolescents.”

Scholar and expert Marcin Kędzierski from the University of Economics in Krakow and the Jagiellonian Analysis Center is cautious about the prospects of the bill. He points out that in the past 25 years, there have been instances in Polish politics where sound policies have been complicated or delayed, often due to influence from foreign interest groups.

“All kinds of possibilities could occur, including the strange possibility that the bill will be delayed for processing.”