E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products should be completely banned
Lao Dong Newspaper has just coordinated with the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund - Ministry of Health, to organize a seminar on "Comprehensive ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products - Necessary decisions in the draft Law on Investment.
Sharing at the seminar, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri - Member of the 15th National Assembly - Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society expressed concern that currently, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are still widely sold on the market despite the ban.
At the 8th session, the National Assembly issued Resolution No. 173, which strictly prohibits the production, trading, import, storage, transportation and use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, from January 1, 2025.
"In fact, since Resolution 173, the circulation and trading of electronic cigarettes has been as vibrant and heavy as before. This shows the contrast: one side has banned the issuance, the other side continues to produce. This is the reason why e-cigarettes are as "hot" as they are today. Everyone with conscience and responsibility needs to say this" - Prof. Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri frankly acknowledged.
The 10th National Assembly session, the 15th National Assembly is taking place. Many draft laws have been discussed and are expected to be passed, including the Investment Law (amended), which refers to types, goods and services that are prohibited.
As a National Assembly delegate, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri affirmed that the comprehensive ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products is a necessary decision that needs to be included in the draft Law on Investment (amended).
"If this content is included in the Law, it will be a big step forward in implementing Resolution 173 of the National Assembly" - he said.
Concerns about false advertising
Master Le Thi Thu - Expert from the Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids organization said that in reports, the World Health Organization (WHO) affirmed that no type of tobacco is safe, all types of tobacco products are harmful to health.
Ms. Thu said: Since new cigarettes (e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products) were produced and circulate in the world, there have been many health-related consequences. In addition to causing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, it also causes acute diseases such as acute pneumonia.
In the US, statistics show more than 2,000 cases of chronic pneumonia, 68 deaths related to this disease.
In Vietnam, before the National Assembly issued Resolution 173, the Ministry of Health had compiled reports related to cases of diseases caused by the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The results were collected from 700 medical facilities with more than 1,000 cases requiring emergency care and hospitalization due to the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
For Bach Mai Hospital alone, there were about 120 cases in 22 months, with cases causing serious damage such as brain damage, multiple organs, and future complications due to the use of this product.
Ms. Thu also expressed concern about the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products as a basis for the use of drugs and synthetic marijuana.
"In Vietnam, the ability and ability to test these new drugs is still limited. This use causes many harmful effects on children. Meanwhile, nicotine addicts are extremely toxic to all organs of the body, nervous system, respiratory system, heart and lungs..." - Ms. Thu said.
When observing on sales sites, Ms. Thu said that there are 2 contents given by manufacturers and sellers to "deceive" buyers, which are: Calculating the harm reduction of the 2 products and the addiction treatment effects of products - used to quit smoking.
However, Ms. Thu said that on November 8, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement about the harm reduction of tobacco, in which it did not recognize these advertisements of businesses.
In addition, in the world, no country has recognized e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products as products for quitting smoking.
"The conclusion that the two things above are not accurate" - Ms. Thu affirmed.
From the above analysis, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri and Master Le Thi Thu both emphasized the view that it is necessary to comprehensively ban e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products to ensure the health of the community.
