Chongqing Plans to Include Vaping in Tobacco Control: It Is Also Harmful

The dangers of cigarettes are well known, but what about e-cigarettes? Do you think they can satisfy cravings and still be harmless? At a recent press conference, Mao Qunan, director of the Planning Department of the National Health Commission, said that the harms of e-cigarettes should be taken very seriously. The National Health Commission is currently working with relevant departments to study e-cigarette regulation and plans to regulate e-cigarettes through legislation.
  ▲ No smoking. Photo by Xinhua News Agency
As tobacco control efforts have intensified across the country, e-cigarettes have become increasingly popular. Their advertisements claim they are harmless to human health and can ease smokers’ cravings. They also say that what is exhaled is merely “vapor,” causing no pollution to others or to the environment. In fact, that is not the case.

Reporters learned that when e-cigarettes were at their most popular, many e-cigarette retail stores opened in the city, but over the past year some of them have gradually closed, indicating that the market has not yet reached scale. A branded e-cigarette kit typically sells for around 300 to 500 yuan in brick-and-mortar stores, and users also need to regularly buy e-liquid and other accessories, so the overall cost is not cheap.

According to the 2018 China Adult Tobacco Survey released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the current e-cigarette usage rate in China remains relatively low. However, compared with 2015, the proportions of respondents who had heard of e-cigarettes, had ever used e-cigarettes, and currently use e-cigarettes all increased, with the rate of current use nearly doubling. E-cigarette use was relatively higher among young people, with the highest rate in the 15-24 age group.

It is understood that many e-cigarette consumers are looking for products that suit them with the goal of quitting smoking, and they pay close attention to flavor, sensation, brand, and temperature control. One smoker told reporters that he uses both conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and that e-cigarettes cannot replace traditional cigarettes. Compared with cigarettes, he said, e-cigarettes are less convenient to carry, have a weaker hit, do not provide enough intensity, and are less consistent in performance. In particular, the social function of traditional cigarettes is something e-cigarettes cannot replace.

“E-cigarettes are in fact also toxic and harmful,” the head of the tobacco control office at the municipal health education institute told reporters. The World Health Organization has conducted dedicated research on e-cigarettes and reached a clear conclusion: e-cigarettes are harmful to public health, and they are not a smoking cessation tool.

Electronic nicotine delivery system aerosols contain nicotine, the addictive substance found in tobacco products. Nicotine can also adversely affect fetal development during pregnancy and may contribute to cardiovascular disease. Exposure to nicotine in fetuses and adolescents may cause long-term negative effects on brain development, potentially leading to learning disorders and anxiety disorders. In addition, secondhand aerosol is a new source of air pollution that produces particulate matter, including fine and ultrafine particles, 1,2-propylene glycol, certain volatile organic compounds, certain heavy metals, and nicotine. It is not merely “water vapor,” as these products are often marketed.

Reporters learned from the tobacco control office of the municipal health education institute that the department is currently organizing research related to local regulations on smoking control in public places. The research outline and questionnaire specifically collect opinions on “whether e-cigarettes should be included in local legislation.” Surveys have already been completed at 10 key local units and one out-of-province unit, and all opinions collected so far have been supportive.