San Marino Health Authority: E-Cigarette Marketing Threatens Youth, Calls for Stronger Regulation

  The San Marino Health Authority warns that to prevent e-cigarettes from marketing through new flavors, aromas, and cartoon characters, public awareness needs to be raised and regulations strengthened. The World Health Organization recently pointed out that the tobacco industry is promoting e-cigarettes to attract young people, and the San Marino Health Authority has expressed concern over this alert.

According to a report by sanmarinortv on December 19, the San Marino Health Authority (Authority Sanitaria) warns that to prevent e-cigarettes from marketing through new flavors, aromas, and cartoon characters, public awareness needs to be raised and regulations strengthened. The World Health Organization recently pointed out that the tobacco industry is promoting e-cigarettes to attract young people, and the San Marino Health Authority has expressed concern over this alert.

Previously, the authority had conducted a decade-long study on the situation of e-cigarettes. A comparison of data from 2014-2018 and 2022 shows that the use of e-cigarettes among teenagers has nearly doubled.

Claudio Muccioli, the head of the health authority, confirmed: "E-cigarettes have become a common habit among our youth. Our latest data comes from a 2022 survey of second and fourth-year high school students, which found that the number of e-cigarette users is gradually increasing: 35% reported occasional use, and 16% reported daily use. The number of users aged 15 is higher than that of 14-year-olds."

The San Marino Health Authority warns that marketing strategies are designed to attract more young people into the e-cigarette trend and calls for stronger regulation.

 "Students we interviewed told us that even though they are minors, they can easily find e-cigarettes."

San Marino is an independent country located within Italy, completely surrounded by Italy, and is the fifth smallest country in the world by area and the third least populous.