Prohibition of non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes has taken an important step in strict supervision
Zhang Tiankan
On March 11, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued the "Administrative Measures for Electronic Cigarettes" and officially implemented it on May 1. In addition to strict access, the listing of enterprises must also be approved by the tobacco monopoly department.
On the same day, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration released the national standard for electronic cigarettes (second draft) for public comments. One of the important contents is that the design of electronic cigarettes should not be inductive to minors, and should not make the characteristic flavor of the product appear in addition to Other flavors than tobacco.
The above regulations can be summarized as a ban on non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes. Although it is not a comprehensive ban on e-cigarettes, it is a big step forward and captures the key issue of e-cigarettes harming health and life.
Electronic cigarettes are often promoted by electronic cigarette manufacturers as less harmful to health, and because of the small nicotine content in them, they can help smokers quit smoking slowly.
However, this claim has no scientific basis and is inconsistent with reality.
However, most importantly, the first key point of e-cigarettes is not well known, that is, e-cigarettes can easily lure non-smoking teenagers into smoking.
An important reason why e-cigarettes tempt teenagers is that they contain other flavors or fresh flavors other than tobacco flavors, such as novel flavors such as fruit, vegetables, cream, chocolate, mint and cinnamon, and are ubiquitous through the Internet, mobile phones, websites in the information age and media and other channels to advertise and market to teenagers to lure them to use these "unique taste, harmless, non-toxic, cool and safe" electronic cigarettes.
A large number of surveys at home and abroad have confirmed that electronic cigarettes with flavors other than tobacco play an important role in allowing young people to take the first step in life smoking.
On October 22, 2021, the Tobacco Control Research Center of the Institute of Health Communication, Fudan University released the "Research Report on Electronic Cigarette Marketing and Its Impact on Adolescent Health", which pointed out that nearly half of the surveyed adolescents started their first career in junior high school at the age of 13-15. For e-cigarette use, the most frequently used flavor among teens who have used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days was fruit flavor.
The non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes that tempt young people to smoke not only create a continuous smoking army, but also harm these e-cigarettes in many ways, including a variety of non-tobacco components in e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes in the U.S. and European markets contain hundreds of different chemicals and combinations, resulting in thousands of non-tobacco substances and flavors that are not all beneficial, but potentially harmful, and can produce secondary and The tertiary chemical reaction generates more harmful products.
Cinnamaldehyde is an aromatic substance, and it is also a more common substance in electronic cigarettes in Europe and the United States. This flavor produces an attractive non-tobacco flavor.
Studies have shown that this ingredient and flavor have a strong cytotoxic effect on human lung cells.
Because cinnamaldehyde contains α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, it is an extremely active chemical that has a great impact on health.
Furthermore, other known α,β-unsaturated aldehydes are also significantly chemically reactive, including acrolein.
The potential health hazards of these substances contained in e-cigarettes are extremely high.
Some other non-vaping substances and flavors in e-cigarettes that were seen as beneficial in the past are also harmful to health.
Vitamin E acetate is another ingredient in e-cigarettes with novel flavors, and it is also a bait for enticing young people to smoke e-cigarettes.
However, vaping that contains this ingredient can cause lung damage, known as vaping or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI).
There have been thousands of such cases in the United States.
The ban on non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes has taken an important step forward in the strict supervision of e-cigarettes. In the future, it should be fully demonstrated whether e-cigarettes should be completely banned.
E-cigarettes with non-tobacco ingredients and odors are even more harmful than traditional tobacco, including a variety of chemicals.
Additives such as butanedione and particles such as lead contained in e-cigarettes can cause serious respiratory diseases and even cause cancer.
As the temperature of e-cigarette liquid increases, carcinogenic substances such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde will also be released. E-cigarette aerosol smoke also contains harmful substances such as arsenic, chromium, and nickel, and the harm to health cannot be ignored.