Despite legal restrictions, minors in the Ukrainian capital can easily purchase flavored disposable electronic cigarettes, journalists found out as a result of an investigation conducted in several large shopping and entertainment centers in Kyiv.
The first attempt to purchase took place in the very center of the capital — in the Gulliver shopping mall. There, the saleswoman without any hesitation offered the minor several flavored vapes. In the next location — the Blockbuster shopping mall — the situation was even more revealing: the girl was sold a vape for 10,000 puffs without any questions about her age or documents.
Such cases indicate a systematic disregard for the requirements of the law, which prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes to persons under 18 years of age, and additionally prohibits the sale of flavored vapes.
Regulatory authorities — customs, police, and the State Service for the Protection of Food and Consumer Rights — are still unable to cope not only with the illegal import of these products, but also with a key aspect: restricting retail sales to children.
Moreover, in the conditions of war and general overload of state structures, street and shopping mall trading has become virtually beyond the scope of supervision. All this contributes to the mass spread of nicotine addiction among adolescents, who are often unaware of the possible health consequences.
