teenagers are invited to roam, " try for fun" and then become addicted without any good results
The most attracted subjects are students, who are easily attracted to " non-toxic" advertising, "less smoke", " safer than traditional cigarettes". Many young people admit that they just "try for fun", "want to be stylish in front of friends", but then quickly become addicted to nicotine and stimulants in electronic essential oils.
N.D.Q - an 11th grade student at a private school in Hanoi - shared: "I have been using it since grade 10, when friends invited me and said it was not harmful to my health. At first, I tried it out of curiosity, but gradually it got quite fragrant and became a habit. After knowing that this was a banned stimulant, I tried to quit it but it was very difficult. There are many places to buy, just text to get a delivery person. Recently, I have felt weaker, often tired and lose focus, but it is still very difficult to quit".
Many students, although aware of the harmful effects of e-cigarettes, continue to use them due to their dependence on nicotine and easy access to the underground market. If this condition is not controlled early, it will create a younger generation addicted to addictive substances, leading to long-term physical and mental consequences.
Experts warn that this is an worrying trend as the age of e-cigarette users is getting younger, leading to the risk of forming a new, uncontrollable addictive generation.
According to the Poison Control Center - Bach Mai Hospital, a 15-year-old boy was recently hospitalized with abdominal pain, vomiting, sweating, then a foaming mouth, convulsive limbs and convulsions. I have been smoking e-cigarettes for more than a year. Recently, through social networks, I tried a new type of electronic cigarette, containing marijuana essential oil. From the first use, he showed signs of nausea, dizziness, and lumpy limbs.
Long-term use due to dependence and illusion is less harmful than regular cigarettes
For many adults, e-cigarettes are considered a exit from traditional medicine smoke. However, in reality, they fall into a new cycle of dependence, when the nicotine content in electronic essential oils is not only not low but even higher, accompanied by a series of unverified toxic chemicals.
On Ta Hien Street (Hanoi) - known as the " sleepless street" of young people, many people openly use e-cigarettes at coffee shops, bars or in groups of friends gathering in the evening. Once a banned product, e-cigarettes still appear everywhere, from drinking tables, bars to sidewalks.
The devices have compact shapes, eye-catching colors, giving off the pleasant scent of fruit or mint, making many people around mistakenly think it is just a pen or artistic smoke-making tool.
"Everyone here uses it, smokers are really noticed, but e-cigarettes are not mentioned," said a young man about 20 years old sitting in a shop on Ta Hien Street.
A 35-year-old man living in Hanoi shared: "At first, I used e-cigarettes to quit smoking, but the more I used them, the more I had to smoke. Not smoking is a burst of breath, fatigue, insomnia. I didn't expect to be addicted to something stronger than old cigarettes."
E-cigarettes are not harmless - but are a hidden poison
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital, said: Many patients, including 15-year-olds, are identified as having typical serotonin syndrome caused by stimulants in e-cigarettes. Common manifestations include perception disorders, seizures, sweating, and multiple organ failure.
According to him, nicotine in e-cigarettes is a highly toxic and addictive substance that was used as a pesticide before being banned for its high toxicity.
"So now people inhale this substance into the body every day. I don't understand how we are viewing human health and life" - Dr. Nguyen worried.
Dr. Nguyen recommends that tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, should be completely eliminated from social life.
If it is not stopped soon, Vietnam will have to face a generation that carries serious physical, mental and economic consequences. It is not just a matter of health, but a matter of the future of the nation" - the doctor said.
The bustling underground market of e-cigarettes shows that just one ban is not enough. When profits are still too big, when consumer awareness, especially among young people, is still limited, those fragrant smoke will continue to seep into life, sowing pathogens and addicting to flooding. It is necessary to soon have stronger measures from the authorities, while promoting communication and education, to end this toxic cycle.
