Still recording cases of severe poisoning
While waiting at a restaurant, Ms. BA (38 years old, from Bac Ninh ) saw an electronic cigarette on the table and curiously "took a puff to see". After just the first puff, she collapsed on the floor, unconscious. People around thought she was just dizzy so they let her rest there. About one to two hours later, she woke up but was still tired, had a severe headache, chest pain, and was dizzy all over. However, it was not until the next morning that her family took her to Bach Mai Hospital for emergency treatment.
At the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital), upon admission, the patient was conscious but exhausted, had slow reactions, was breathing rapidly, appeared confused, and complained of a constant headache. The patient's test results showed severe metabolic acidosis, a common sign of poisoning with synthetic drugs or strong stimulant chemicals.
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital), said: “The results of the woman's brain MRI showed obvious, extremely dangerous brain damage that could leave long-term sequelae. Notably, when testing cognitive function, the patient had severe memory loss, almost unable to recognize acquaintances, and the ability to memorize new information was close to zero, a very low level compared to healthy people.
In particular, the rapid drug test on the patient's urine gave negative results. However, this is not surprising. Most of the e-cigarette essential oils currently circulating contain new groups of drugs such as synthetic cannabinoids, amphetamine stimulants, cathinones... which cannot be detected by routine testing.
According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, many patients poisoned by stimulants appear to be conscious and able to talk, but when examined closely, they all have abnormalities: behavioral disorders, memory loss, and changes in brain electrical activity. This is a typical case because just a single puff can cause acute perceptual disorders, severe acidosis, and central nervous system damage.
In addition, patients also experience serotonin syndrome, a condition of over-activation of the nervous system caused by new stimulants. Patients may sweat profusely, have a rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, agitation or hallucinations.
Treatment can only be based on respiratory and circulatory support, non-specific detoxification, correction of metabolic disturbances and close monitoring of neurological damage. There is no specific antidote for the synthetic chemicals currently mixed into e-cigarettes.
Accordingly, brain damage and cognitive impairment in patients can be persistent or permanent.
Many other patients were also hospitalized because of e-cigarettes. When they were discharged, they were alert but later still had memory loss, decreased concentration, and behavioral disorders. However, many people did not return to the hospital, so there were few statistics.
Absolutely banned to protect the young generation
According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, in reality, e-cigarettes are advertised as a product that is “safer than traditional cigarettes”, “non-toxic”, “helps quit smoking”…. These propagandas are completely false, leading to serious consequences, with many cases requiring emergency hospitalization just because of believing those advertisements.
Worryingly, with just a few steps, anyone can mix chemicals or synthetic drugs into the e-cigarette's essential oil. These substances are colorless, odorless, and have no distinct taste, making them undetectable to smokers. In many poisoning cases, patients claim they "didn't know, they just tried it", but the consequences still occurred immediately.
“In essential oils floating on the market, doctors have discovered Synthetic cannabinoids, dozens of times stronger than THC (the main chemical compound in cannabis, responsible for creating a "high" feeling or psychological and neurological effects), causing mental disorders, paranoia, agitation, and brain damage. Stimulants of the Cathinone family (also known as "new generation methamphetamine"), cause rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, overheating, and even multiple organ failure.
In addition, Amphetamine-type stimulants are highly addictive and destroy dopamine neurons. Solvent chemicals are toxic to cells, causing chemical pneumonia, liver damage, and kidney failure,” Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen warned.
Accordingly, most of these substances are not detected by conventional drug tests, causing users to mistakenly believe they are not addicted, continue using them, and fall deeper into the risk of addiction.
Therefore, Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen warned that if there is no absolute ban, in a few years Vietnam will face a young generation whose memory, behavior and mental health are affected by e-cigarettes. This brain damage cannot be completely recovered.
E-cigarettes are not only harmful to the smoker; many cases of severe pneumonia in children, pregnant women or bystanders have been recorded due to inhalation of vapor from devices mixed with chemicals. All these risks show that e-cigarettes are now many times more dangerous than traditional cigarettes, and are becoming the most sophisticated, cheapest, and most difficult to detect source of synthetic drugs.
According to Dr. Trung Nguyen, Vietnam needs to completely ban electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. If delayed for just a few more years, these products will spread widely among young people, causing widespread addiction, creating a series of health, mental and behavioral consequences and increasing the medical burden for the whole society.
In recent years, Vietnam has implemented many strong policies to ban harmful substances and brought about clear results. With e-cigarettes, which are currently the path to bring drugs and toxic chemicals into the community, similar strong measures, even more resolute, need to be applied.
The goal is to stop e-cigarettes from being marketed as an alternative to tobacco. Products containing nicotine and synthetic drugs should be considered dangerous addictive substances and managed like illegal substances.
“Most e-cigarettes are currently sold online and in small grocery stores. Without comprehensive control measures, this loophole will make all efforts meaningless. This is a turning point; if we do not act now, it will be too late when e-cigarettes have become a social habit, taking root among young people and causing large-scale addiction,” Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen emphasized.
Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/van-ghi-nhan-cac-ca-ngo-doc-nang-thuoc-la-dien-tu-528952.html
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