Doctors and health academicians have warned members of the public that e-cigarettes contain many times the amount of nicotine of regular cigarettes. This means they will negatively impact users’ lungs, heart and vascular systems, while also increasing the risk of developing cancer.
Dr Roengrudee Patanavanich from the Faculty of Medicine at Ramathibodi Hospital issued the warning at an academic discussion titled “Do You Know E-cigarettes Are Dangerous?”
She said there is a misunderstanding in society about e-cigarettes being less dangerous than regular cigarettes. In teenagers, nicotine exposure to a developing brain may result in cognitive problems such as bad memory, reduced ability to comprehend lessons in class, depression, frustration and lack of emotional control.
Exposure to nicotine also increases the risk of future exposure to other narcotics.
Dr Roengrudee further noted that the World Health Organization and the World Bank have clear standpoints about classifying e-cigarettes as products that have tremendous economic repercussions.
The two international bodies have indicated that e-cigarettes destroy people’s health and create budgetary burdens for countries that need to treat the illnesses of e-cigarette users.
In response, many countries have started enforcing intense controls on all types of cigarettes. New Zealand, for example, has passed a draft law banning the sale of all types of cigarettes to people born on or after January 1, 2009, which is expected to save the country billions of dollars in public healthcare expenses. (NNT)
