Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Russian students about the dangers of vaping on Monday, saying that electronic cigarettes harm reproductive function and can lead to infertility.
“There needs to be an understanding of what bad habits lead to. A lot of people — especially young people — don’t think about it. It seems that it’s fashionable, that it’s cool to smoke e-cigarettes,” Putin told students at a school in Kyzyl, near the Mongolian border.
“And in young people reproductive function is reduced. Both in men and women. That is, the possibility of having children in the future is reduced,” Putin added, to spell things out clearly for the pupils.
Putin also talked about motorbikes, describing them as an “unstable” means of transportation. “Save up for a car, it’s better for your dad and mom,” he told a student.
The Russian leader was holding an open lesson entitled “Conversation about important things” at the school in Russia’s southern Siberian Republic of Tyva, which opened its doors for the first time on Monday.
Putin’s not alone in his war on vapes.
In Britain, the new Labour government is also reviewing proposals to restrict the sale and supply of disposable vapes. It is expected to outline plans after the parliament returns from its summer break.