Deputy Minister of Health warns of 'a new generation of smokers', unpredictable consequences for the quality of the race

The above information was given by Prof. Dr. Tran Van Thuan - Deputy Minister of Health at a workshop providing information on issues related to the purchase and use of new cigarettes organized by the Ministry of Health on the morning of April 27 in Hanoi.

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan, speaking at the conference, emphasized: All tobacco products are harmful to health and there is increasing evidence that e-cigarettes are as harmful to public health as regular cigarettes. Photo: Thuy Nhien

E-cigarettes create a new generation of smokers

According to Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan, around 2015, new tobacco products began to enter Vietnam and quickly attracted young people. The activities of smuggling, buying and selling, and trading these products are taking place in many diverse forms. Products are brought into Vietnam mainly through smuggling, hand-carried... brought to consumers through unofficial channels and are widely advertised and sold on social networking sites.

Consumers can easily buy new generation tobacco products on the Internet without knowing the specific origin. These products attract young people through attractive flavors, eye-catching product designs, fashion, bold technology style, are promoted on young people's social networks by celebrities and retain customers with products with high nicotine content.

In recent years, the increasingly popular buying and selling situation has led to an increasing rate of new tobacco use, especially among young people and teenagers.

"The emergence of new cigarettes with novel forms has created more choices for using new tobacco products besides regular cigarettes, more choices for using tobacco for non-smokers and those who are using traditional cigarettes. Therefore, electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products increase the smoking rate due to the diversity of supply sources and types of cigarettes" - Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan said.

The Ministry of Health has proposed to ban all new tobacco products because new generation tobacco products (including electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products) are harmful to health. Photo: Duong Hai

In fact, traditional cigarette smokers are more likely than non-smokers to use e-cigarettes in combination with tobacco products. These people use both types of tobacco products, depending on when and how they use them. Teens and young adults who do not use traditional cigarettes still try and often start using new tobacco products.

As a result, the rate of e-cigarette and heated tobacco use is increasing faster than that of conventional cigarettes. Tobacco companies aim to advertise e-cigarette products to attract young people and teenagers, creating a new generation of smokers. This is the reason for the increase in e-cigarette and heated tobacco use among teenagers today.

Recorded cases of emergency hospitalization due to use of electronic cigarettes mixed with drugs

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan said that in Vietnam, in the past 3 years, the number of people using e-cigarettes has been increasing. According to the results of a study on health-risk behaviors of middle and high school students in Hanoi conducted by the Institute of Health Strategy and Policy, Ministry of Health in 2020, the rate of students currently using e-cigarettes in grades 8-12 is 8.35%, and in grades 10-12 it is 12.6%.

According to the survey results, in 2015, the rate of e-cigarette use in 34 provinces and cities was only about 0.2%, and by 2020 it had increased 18 times to about 3.6%.

Particularly for women and girls, according to the survey results of the Institute of Health Strategy and Policy - Ministry of Health, up to 8% of women and girls smoke e-cigarettes while the rate of cigarette smoking among women is only 1.2%. Smoking e-cigarettes among teenage girls, young adults, and women of reproductive age will cause consequences for reproductive health and quality of the race.

The Ministry of Health also informed that some surveys in the community of e-cigarette users clearly showed the relationship between e-cigarette use and other social evils such as drugs, shisha smoking and other addictive substances.

In fact, a number of emergency hospitalizations due to the use of electronic cigarettes mixed with drugs have been recorded at the Poison Control Center of Bach Mai Hospital recently.

Conference scene. Photo: Thuy Nhien

According to the World Health Organization, tobacco products are harmful to health and there is increasing evidence that e-cigarettes pose the same harm to public health as regular cigarettes. However, because the characteristics of this new tobacco product are different from those of traditional cigarettes, the 2012 Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms cannot be applied to these products.

"In order to prevent the purchase and use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, especially among the young generation, vulnerable groups and future resources of the country, in recent times, the Ministry of Health has coordinated with agencies and organizations to research and evaluate the situation and current status of the purchase and sale of new cigarettes, and the experiences of countries around the world to make recommendations on policies for new cigarettes," said Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan.