E-Cigarettes: No Matter How They Change, the Risks Remain
The emergence of e-cigarettes was initially aimed at helping people quit smoking, but some companies have illegally added chemicals to the e-liquid for short-term profits.—
Intern reporter Guo Shuang
According to a recent report by the Financial Times, the World Health Organization has clearly defined e-cigarettes as part of the tobacco category and classified them as medical products.
The WHO's regulations indicate that many characteristics of e-cigarettes are similar to those of traditional tobacco. In this regard, Yang Jie, deputy director of the Tobacco Control Office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stated in an interview with China Science Daily: “According to existing research, both smoking e-cigarettes and passive smoking from e-cigarettes can harm the human body; their vapor is not harmless water vapor. Therefore, e-cigarettes should be banned in public places.”
Contains Nicotine
“E-cigarettes are most commonly in the form of electronic nicotine delivery systems, which deliver aerosol to users by heating a solution. Each e-cigarette device includes an electronic evaporation system, a rechargeable battery, electronic controls, and liquid cartridges.” Yang Jie explained that cartridges can be designed to hold fixed amounts of nicotine, expanding the liquid storage space to add different concentrations of nicotine liquid.
The dangers of cigarettes are well known. The nicotine contained in them is a foul-smelling, bitter, colorless, oily liquid that is highly volatile and easily oxidizes to a dark gray in the air. At the same time, nicotine quickly dissolves in water and alcohol and can be easily absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose. Nicotine that sticks to the skin can also be absorbed into the body.
Relevant data shows that the nicotine in one cigarette can kill a small white mouse, and the nicotine in 20 cigarettes can kill a cow. If the nicotine from one cigar or three cigarettes is injected into a person's veins, death can occur within 3 to 5 minutes. Tobacco is harmful not only to higher animals but also to lower animals, which is why it is a major component of agricultural pesticides.
“Manufacturers, in pursuit of flavor, may add nicotine levels in e-cigarettes that are not necessarily within safe limits.” Yang Jie told reporters that reports provided by manufacturers show that nicotine liquids typically contain 6 to 24 milligrams of nicotine, but in actual production, the nicotine content may exceed 100 milligrams.
Not Harmless
“The emergence of e-cigarettes was initially aimed at helping people quit smoking, and they are fundamentally different from regular cigarettes. E-cigarettes do not burn, do not contain tar, and do not contain over 460 chemicals produced during the combustion of regular cigarettes that can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, thus removing the carcinogens found in regular cigarettes.” Zhao Wencai, general manager of Shenzhen Kangcheng Yipin Technology Co., Ltd., stated.
However, some companies, for short-term profits, have illegally added certain chemicals to the e-liquid to reduce costs and cater to consumer flavor preferences.
Multiple studies have proven that the aerosol from e-cigarettes often contains some carcinogens and harmful substances found in tobacco smoke. In certain brands of e-cigarettes, the levels of carcinogens like formaldehyde and toxic substances like acrolein are almost the same as those in traditional cigarettes, and they even contain heavy metals like nickel and lead that are not found in traditional cigarettes.
At the same time, e-cigarettes also add various fruit, chocolate, and coffee flavoring agents, which are highly attractive to teenagers. In European and American countries where e-cigarettes are developing rapidly, the usage rate of e-cigarettes among teenagers is increasing very quickly.
“Once nicotine addiction forms due to e-cigarette use, it will lead teenagers to turn to traditional cigarettes.” Wu Yiqun, former vice president of the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, expressed concern.
A study in the United States showed that between 2011 and 2012, the number of first-time e-cigarette users and e-cigarette users among middle and high school students in the U.S. grew rapidly. By 2012, approximately 1.28 million students had used e-cigarettes. In 2013, the number of e-cigarette users in the U.S. nearly doubled compared to 2012, with 1.78 million teenagers having tried e-cigarettes.
Scientific Regulation
“Using e-cigarettes in places where smoking is not allowed increases the chances of non-smokers being exposed to harmful and toxic substances, while also weakening the incentives to quit smoking, which conflicts with the effects of preventing smoking from becoming mainstream.” Yang Jie said that the current promotion policies and methods for e-cigarettes will weaken the implementation of restrictions on traditional tobacco.
The WHO recommends that countries achieve the following objectives when formulating e-cigarette regulation strategies: prevent the promotion of e-cigarettes to non-smokers, pregnant women, and teenagers, and prevent them from starting to use such products; minimize potential health risks to e-cigarette users and non-users; prohibit the promotion of e-cigarettes using unverified health claims; and protect existing tobacco control efforts from the influence of the tobacco industry's commercial and other vested interests. #p#分页标题#e#
Zhao Wencai believes that classifying e-cigarettes as medical products aligns with objective facts, and the WHO has also proposed nicotine replacement therapy for quitting smoking.
“Although there are many controversies at present, e-cigarettes should still be banned in non-smoking areas. The government should invest special funds in this area to conduct relevant research.” Yang Jie stated that there is an urgent need to classify e-cigarettes, prohibit e-cigarette advertising and online sales, and ban the sale of e-cigarettes to teenagers under 18 years old.
