E-cigarettes and the unforeseen dangers they pose to young people.
(Baonghean.vn) - Recently, e-cigarettes have become a trend among young people, a way to show off their status, despite not being licensed for sale, and frequent use can lead to addiction and even poisoning.
Clip: Tien Dong |
Floating goods
Although it has not been licensed or supervised for quality by any authorities, the business is operating.electronic cigarettesThis practice is still rampant on social media. Simply typing "e-cigarettes" or "e-cigarettes in Vinh" into Facebook will bring up hundreds of pages, groups, and communities dedicated to e-cigarettes. There are even groups for e-cigarette users called "Pod Chill Vinh" or "General Pod Chill in Vinh"... with thousands of members sharing experiences and the "high" they get from different types of e-cigarettes.
Each type of cigarette has a different price depending on its weight and strength. The average price advertised on social media ranges from 250,000 to 400,000 VND per cigarette. Additionally, there are hand-rolled cigarettes (or "fun cigarettes") with various flavors, priced from 50,000 VND per cigarette.
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Image of a Facebook page advertising the sale of e-cigarettes. Photo: Tien Dong |
According to our research, e-cigarettes have entered Nghe An province within the last 4-5 years. Unlike traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes come in many types and have many components. Users use the atomizer and then fill it with e-liquid. There are also types where the atomizer and e-liquid are pre-attached and discarded after a period of use.
According to Decree 76 dated October 22, 2001, on the production and business of tobacco products, all activities involving the import and consumption of tobacco products manufactured abroad in the Vietnamese market are strictly prohibited. Because they are prohibited imports, e-cigarettes and e-cigarette components are currently mainly traded clandestinely.
Major Ho Tuan Anh – Deputy Head of the Economic and Official Crime Investigation Team, Vinh City Police, stated: Based on our observations, the smuggled e-cigarettes entering Nghe An province mainly fall into three categories. The first type is Vape (also known as "Vegetable Veg"), a type of e-cigarette that uses e-liquid. Users must purchase a device, and after emptying it, refill it with e-liquid. This type is often used by individuals to quit smoking or to try different e-liquids. The second type is the stick-shaped e-cigarette, available in various flavors, each lasting several thousand puffs before being discarded. The third type is the Pod Chill, the most potent hallucinogenic.
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Authorities have seized numerous types of e-cigarettes recently. (Photo: Tien Dong) |
According to Major Ho Tuan Anh, there are currently no regulations or documents permitting the business and sale of e-cigarettes. However, due to profit motives, many individuals often take advantage of this by separating different parts of e-cigarettes and selling them in the Nghe An market, mainly in Vinh City and other towns and cities.
According to data from the Vinh City Police, from 2020 to the present, they have apprehended and seized thousands of e-cigarette products, e-liquids, and accessories for use with e-cigarettes that lacked invoices and documents proving the legality of the goods. In some cases, e-cigarettes were even sold clandestinely within cafes and fast-food restaurants.
For example, on April 23, 2021, at a cafe on Phan Chu Trinh Street (Doi Cung Ward, Vinh City), the police seized over 600 products used for e-cigarettes. On May 7, 2021, at a fast-food restaurant located at 72 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, also in Doi Cung Ward, the police seized 60 e-cigarette products, 20 bottles of e-liquid, and 10 packs of hallucinogenic cigarettes.
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Pod Chill - the most potent hallucinogenic e-cigarette currently available. Photo: Tien Dong |
From the beginning of 2022 to the present, Vinh City Police have seized more than 20,000 e-cigarettes and related products. Most notably, in August 2022, Vinh City Police arrested VA (born in 1996, residing in Vinh City) at the old bus station in Le Loi Ward while attempting to sell 10,000 e-cigarettes. In addition, authorities also inspected and confiscated 1,000 Pod Chill e-cigarettes, 500 "fun" cigarettes, and over 30 nitrous oxide canisters from NVH in Hung Binh Ward.
Hidden dangers beyond our control.
Although the sale of e-cigarettes in Vinh City is quite clandestine, only openly advertised on social media to individuals who are members of groups or clubs, the actual use is almost public. At cafes, snack shops, and bubble tea shops, it's not uncommon to see groups of young people and students passing around e-cigarettes, occasionally exhaling clouds of fruit-flavored or essential oil-scented smoke. It's not just male students; female students also use these e-cigarettes, surprising many.
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Since the beginning of the year, Vinh City Police have seized more than 20,000 e-cigarettes. Photo: Tien Dong |
Most recently, on October 30th, a video showing three elementary school-aged children gathered to smoke e-cigarettes, allegedly in front of Cua Tien Home Apartment Building (Vinh Tan Ward, Vinh City), received numerous comments from the online community. Many expressed outrage at the parents' failure to closely supervise their children, allowing them to use e-cigarettes openly.
It is evident that tobacco products in general, and e-cigarettes in particular, are not encouraged for sale or use. Especially with e-cigarettes, these products are not manufactured domestically but are mainly smuggled in from abroad. Despite being strictly prohibited and subject to severe penalties for smuggling and illegal trading of goods of unknown origin, e-cigarettes and related products such as e-liquids and pipes are still secretly traded.
The mucous membranes of the respiratory tract are highly absorbent, so prolonged use of tobacco products can lead to bronchial obstruction in mild cases and lung cancer in severe cases. Furthermore, e-cigarettes often lack clear origins, making them even more dangerous.
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Some individuals are also selling rolled cigarettes, which contain stimulants and hallucinogens that are very harmful to health. Photo: Tien Dong |
Dr. Thai Dinh Lam, Deputy Director of Nghe An Lung Hospital, stated: "All types of tobacco affect the health of users. Electronic cigarettes, unlike regular cigarettes, do not contain tobacco leaf ingredients. Instead, they are essentially a simulated device containing various flavored e-liquids. While regular cigarettes use fire to burn, e-cigarettes use electricity to heat the liquid inside. The heated liquid then transforms into a vapor with a taste and sensation similar to smoking a real cigarette."
In particular, besides nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance similar to narcotics, e-cigarettes also contain many other unidentified chemicals, heavy metals, ultrafine particles, and toxic components that can cause hallucinations and impair the user's ability to behave. Furthermore, because they are mostly smuggled, e-cigarettes may be mixed with stimulants, which greatly affects the central nervous system.
Many believe that before e-cigarettes can cause serious health and life-threatening consequences, parents and schools need to intensify awareness campaigns to educate students and young people about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes. In addition, agencies such as the police, market management, border guards, and customs need to strengthen control activities to prevent e-cigarettes and related products from entering the market under any circumstances or in any form.
