They prepared and registered relevant amendments to the Law on the Control of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Related Products.
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The drafters, belonging to various parliamentary factions, claim that they aim to reduce the attractiveness, accessibility, and consumption of electronic cigarettes among young people in this way.
The initiator of the project is social democrat Saulius Čaplinskas.
“A 2023 European Union study showed that most e-cigarette users choose rechargeable devices, while disposable versions were most popular among young people aged 15–24. Easy-to-use and widely advertised on social media, disposable e-cigarettes are also attractive due to their low price,” states the explanatory note of the project.
It is proposed to enshrine in law that the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes is prohibited.
A disposable electronic cigarette would be defined as an electronic cigarette that is pre-filled with liquid and cannot be refilled, regardless of whether it has a rechargeable battery.
According to the authors of the project, the market for disposable electronic cigarettes has grown significantly, and the concentration of nicotine in them has increased. They are harmful to health and pollute the environment.
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According to the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) data, in 2024, Lithuanian schoolchildren first tried electronic cigarettes at an average age of 12.9 years, and started using them daily at an average age of 13.5 years.
Since 2015, the number of respondents aged thirteen or younger who first used electronic cigarettes has quadrupled – from 7.3 percent to 32 percent.
More than half – 55.6 percent – of schoolchildren claim that they could easily or very easily obtain electronic cigarettes if they wanted to.
Currently, in Lithuania, it is prohibited to place on the market electronic cigarettes and refills for electronic cigarettes with liquid intended for refilling electronic cigarettes, if this liquid contains vitamins, caffeine, taurine, other stimulating compounds, added aroma or flavor, sugar, or sweeteners.
As BNS wrote, similar amendments were first attempted to be submitted last October, but they were removed from the plenary session agenda. This April, S. Čaplinskas’s proposal was removed from it once again.
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