According to a report compiled from nearly 700 medical examination and treatment facilities, including hospitals under the Ministry of Health, hospitals under the Department of Health and district medical centers: In 2023 alone, there were 1,224 hospitalizations due to the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
Of which, the number of people hospitalized due to using electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) and heated tobacco products (HTP) was highest among those aged 65 and over with 580 hospitalizations, those aged 45-64 had 377 hospitalizations, those aged 25-44 had 138 hospitalizations, those aged 19-24 had 58 hospitalizations, those aged 16-18 had 44 hospitalizations and those under 16 had 27 hospitalizations.
Worryingly, according to a survey on tobacco use in 11 provinces and cities, the rate of e-cigarette use among students aged 13-17 increased from 2.6% in 2019 to 8.1% in 2023; among 13-15 year olds, the rate more than doubled from 3.5% in 2022 to 8% in 2023; among females aged 11-18, the rate of e-cigarette use was 4.3% in 2023.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, smoking conventional cigarettes has been causing a huge health and economic burden and requires a lot of time and resources to solve in developing countries like Vietnam. If new cigarettes with nicotine are allowed, these products will quickly become addictive and increase the number of users over time. New cigarettes threaten the initial achievements in the fight against tobacco harm in Vietnam.
The report summarizing 10 years of implementing the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms shows that thanks to many efforts in tobacco harm prevention and control, the rate of regular cigarette use among adult males has decreased by an average of 0.5% per year, from 47.4% (in 2010) to 38.9% (in 2023). The smoking rate among adolescents has also decreased, in which, in the 13-17 age group, it has decreased from 5.36% in 2013 to 2.78% in 2019, in the 13-15 age group, it has decreased from 2.5% (in 2014) to 1.9% (in 2022). At the same time, the rate of exposure to secondhand smoke has also decreased significantly in households, public places and workplaces.
These are very encouraging results in the work of preventing the harmful effects of tobacco. However, these achievements are at risk of being destroyed by the rapid increase in the rate of new tobacco use, especially among young people. Specifically, the rate of e-cigarette use among adults increased from 0.2% in 2015 to 3.6% in 2020, while the rate of students from grades 6 to 12 currently using e-cigarettes in 2023 was 7.0%.
In fact, e-cigarettes and some newly developed heated tobacco products use many flavors and chemicals that are not from regular cigarette leaves. The ingredients are mixed with many different ingredients, so they can be exploited for drug use. Through mixing, users can arbitrarily increase the nicotine ratio too much or add drugs and other addictive substances to use without being detected.
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center at Bach Mai Hospital, said that e-cigarettes use many flavors and chemicals, so they can be used for drug use through mixing. Users can arbitrarily increase the nicotine content too much or add drugs and other addictive substances to use without being detected. Not only nicotine but also many other substances are harmful to the user's health.
The cost of treatment for mild to severe cases of e-cigarette poisoning ranges from over 10 million to hundreds of millions of VND.
According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Vietnam urgently needs to ban the production and circulation of electronic cigarettes, only then can it prevent a series of major and serious health problems for the people.
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