E-Cigarettes: Also Harmful to Health

According to a recent report by Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, a report released by the World Health Organization in Geneva said that e-cigarettes also produce toxic substances and harm health, and governments around the world should take measures to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.

Electronic cigarettes, also known as “electronic nicotine delivery systems,” vaporize a solution containing a small amount of nicotine into an aerosol, which is inhaled by the user much like a traditional cigarette, but without visible smoke. E-cigarettes first appeared in China in 2005. Because the history of e-cigarettes is relatively short, governments in various countries lack effective regulation. In response, the WHO drafted a report titled Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems.

E-cigarettes contain a liquid internally that is referred to here as a smoking agent. The WHO said that this substance also produces harmful components during the atomization process.

The WHO stated in the report that there is sufficient evidence showing that pregnant women and women of childbearing age who use e-cigarettes may adversely affect fetal brain development. The WHO report shows that the e-cigarette market is currently developing rapidly, with global spending on e-cigarettes reaching US$3 billion in 2013. By 2030, sales are expected to increase 17-fold. Data show that in 2013, the number of U.S. middle and high school students who did not smoke but did use e-cigarettes exceeded 250,000, a figure that tripled compared with 2011.