Easier to buy vegetables
After some research, we were introduced to an electronic cigarette business in a villa in Trung Hoa - Nhan Chinh area (Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi ).
Here, we met many young people, some wearing school uniforms, coming to try drugs, buy drugs and accessories.
According to the store staff, there are about 200 types of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco and essential oils. For electronic cigarettes, there are many types of machines, designs and depending on the capacity, the price ranges from 500,000 to 2 million VND/unit. For essential oils, there are 3 levels of nicotine (heavy, medium and light) with many different flavors such as strawberry, watermelon, mango, peach mango, chocolate, grapefruit grape, lychee grape, peach guava... with prices ranging from a few tens to a few hundred thousand VND/bottle.
When asked about the ingredients in essential oils that affect the health of the smoker, the salesperson assured that the products were imported, so they were safe and did not contain harmful banned substances.
According to the reporter's investigation, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are also sold openly and widely on personal Facebook, Instagram, TikTok pages and many groups that "play" with these products. The products are also sold at some traditional cigarette stores, even near schools.
It is worrying that most places that sell electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and instructional videos on buying and using this new generation of cigarettes advertise with a tone that captivates young people, such as "stylish, civilized, easy to use, non-addictive, and helps them quit traditional cigarettes."
Many dangers
A representative of the General Department of Market Management, Ministry of Industry and Trade , said that up to now, electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products have not been licensed for distribution in Vietnam. Therefore, the business of these drugs and related products are all hand-carried and smuggled goods.
Meanwhile, Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Huong, Department of Legal Affairs ( Ministry of Health ) said that the act of advertising, introducing products, trading, buying and selling electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products is a violation of the law. The consequences of lack of control will risk turning Vietnam into one of the new smuggling points for tobacco products from other countries and causing many dangers to the health of consumers, especially teenagers.
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| A patient poisoned by drugs in e-cigarettes is treated at the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital. |
From the perspective of a medical expert, Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital, said that the number of patients poisoned by e-cigarettes is increasing and is very young, with many cases of stroke and lung damage.
“We have just treated a 20-year-old girl in Hanoi who was admitted to the emergency room in critical condition, in a deep coma, with heart failure, diffuse brain damage in all areas, liver damage, heart failure, kidney failure… due to smoking e-cigarettes.”
From the beginning of 2023 until now, the test results of e-cigarette samples that poisoned patients brought to the Poison Control Center during the emergency treatment have detected 13 samples containing drugs and synthetic marijuana. E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products not only contain addictive nicotine but also contain many chemicals and flavors, all of which are artificial and contain banned substances. Therefore, e-cigarette smokers will become addicted; long-term exposure to chemicals leads to acute lung damage, heart failure, high blood pressure, arrhythmia, effects on the respiratory system, nervous system, genes and weakens the immune system.
Faced with the dangers of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products to the community, many countries such as India, Thailand, the Philippines... have banned their sale and use.
According to the Ministry of Health, all tobacco products are harmful to health and to date, there is increasing evidence that e-cigarettes pose the same health risks to the community as regular cigarettes. However, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are new products, different from the characteristics of traditional cigarettes, so the 2012 Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms cannot be applied to these products.
According to Dr. Nguyen Tuan Lam, an expert from the World Health Organization in Vietnam, if electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products are allowed to circulate, the rate of use will increase rapidly, leading to nicotine addiction and tobacco use among young people. At the same time, the risk of drug abuse in electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products will increase.
A study on health-risk behaviors among middle and high school students in Hanoi conducted by the Institute of Health Strategy and Policy in 2020 showed that the rate of students using e-cigarettes in grades 8-12 was 8.35%; in grades 10-12 it was 12.6%. Up to 8% of women and girls smoke e-cigarettes, while only 1.2% of women smoke cigarettes.
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