Urgent action needed to protect children from e-cigarette risks

Urgent action needed to protect children from e-cigarette risks – PAHO

Dec 22, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – In a recent call to action, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) emphasized the pressing need for measures to safeguard children and non-smokers from the escalating risks associated with e-cigarette use. Urgent steps, they contend, are crucial to curb the burgeoning uptake of these products among young demographics and mitigate the potential health hazards pervasive in their consumption.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), underscored the gravity of the situation, stating, “Kids are being recruited and trapped at an early age to use e-cigarettes and may get hooked to nicotine. I urge countries to implement strict measures to prevent uptake to protect their citizens, especially their children and young people.”

The concerns raised stem from alarming evidence highlighting the adverse health effects of e-cigarettes. Despite being marketed as cessation aids, they have shown no population-level efficacy in curbing tobacco use. Instead, these products have infiltrated the open market and aggressively targeted young people, with 34 countries banning their sale, while 88 countries impose no minimum age restrictions and 74 countries lack regulatory frameworks to control these harmful products.

The addictive nature of nicotine-laden e-cigarettes, coupled with their potential health risks, presents a cause for alarm. While the long-term health implications remain incompletely understood, these devices have been found to produce toxic substances linked to cancer, heart ailments, and respiratory disorders. Furthermore, their use can impede brain development, leading to learning disorders in adolescents, and adversely affect fetal development in pregnant women.

Dr. Ruediger Krech, WHO Director for Health Promotion, shed light on the insidious tactics employed by the e-cigarette industry to entice young users. Employing social media and influencers, these products, available in over 16,000 flavors and often adorned with appealing designs and cartoon characters, have witnessed a worrying surge in underage consumption, surpassing adult usage rates in several countries.

Statistics reveal a troubling trend: children aged 13–15 are increasingly turning to e-cigarettes at rates surpassing those of adults across all WHO regions. Reports from Canada highlight a doubling in e-cigarette use among 16–19-year-olds between 2017 and 2022, while England witnessed a threefold increase in young users over the past three years.

Moreover, exposure to e-cigarette content on social media has been linked to heightened intentions to use these products and foster more positive attitudes toward them. Studies consistently show that young e-cigarette users are nearly three times more likely to take up conventional cigarettes later in life.

To address this escalating crisis, PAHO advocates for stringent measures to prevent e-cigarette uptake, including enhanced bans where applicable and robust regulations in countries permitting their commercialization. Strategies encompass banning all flavors, limiting nicotine concentration and quality, and imposing taxes on these products.

Critically, PAHO warns against governments permitting the sale of e-cigarettes as consumer products under the guise of smoking cessation, advocating instead for rigorous control over their access and regulation as medicines, if pursued in specific clinical contexts, after exhausting proven cessation methods.

The organization also flagged the tobacco industry’s vested interests, highlighting its role in promoting misleading evidence to downplay harm while aggressively targeting children and non-smokers, even as it continues to profit from conventional cigarette sales.

In light of mounting evidence indicating the perils of e-cigarette use among children and adolescents, PAHO urges resolute action to counter these risks and safeguard public health.

The call to action underscores the imperative of swift, decisive measures in the face of escalating e-cigarette use, particularly among younger demographics, emphasizing the need to prioritize public health and stem the tide of potential health crises.

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Urgent action needed to protect children from e-cigarette risks – PAHO

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