“Vaping remains a huge risk.
“Neurobiologically, children are much more vulnerable than adults to nicotine addiction, and those who start using nicotine at a young age have greater nicotine dependence than those who start later.
“The process of vaping highly addictive nicotine brings its own health risks, even for adults, says Dr Sharon Nyatsanza, deputy of the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS).”
“Early exposure to nicotine paves a pathway to addiction of all kinds.
“The brain’s peak period for developing addiction is in adolescence.
“Failure to properly regulate e-cigarettes ignores the harmful effects of these products which are linked to severe health conditions, as well as risking the creation of a new generation of nicotine addicts,” says Nyatsanza.
Unfortunately, South Africa has lagged behind in protecting children from tobacco and nicotine industries, which continue to promote harmful products to young people, she states.
NCAS and other leading health organisations including Protect our Next Partners, call for placing children at the centre of discussions about better regulation of these products.
She conveys that, in the face of competing interests from multiple groups, children's interests must remain a top priority, and preventing tobacco and nicotine use in children before it begins must be a key component of any public health strategy.
Tobacco and e-cigarette industries cannot be trusted to self-regulate, and public health policy should be protected from the industry's influence, heeds Dr Catherine Egbe of the South African Medical Research Council.
E-cigarettes are not endorsed as cessation aids by the World Health Organisation, and even South African e-cigarette companies do not officially categorise them as stop-smoking aids. They are registered as consumer products, explains Egbe.
“If they were registered as stop-smoking aids or tobacco substitutes, the Medicines Control Council classifies nicotine e-cigarettes as Schedule 3 products to be sold under a prescription, which does not suit the business objectives of the industry.”
To attract a young market and find "replacement" smokers to maintain their market share and profits, tobacco companies have used well-known strategies like advertising, the use of enticing flavours, influencers, and anything else that appeals to youth. This has resulted in another generation becoming addicted to nicotine.
In conversation with IOL , 22 year old Amy Leigh, says that she doesn’t smoke cigarettes and uses vaping as an alternative as well as a coping mechanism.She admits to love the sleek design and the fact that once she’s done smoking she is not left with a stench as cigarettes do.
Vape juice is sold with varying levels of nicotine, and picking the right nicotine strength is an important decision for a new vaper.
Since she’s not a regular smoker, Leigh says she opted for a mild level of nicotine.
“Mine is 1.3m.g a mild level of nicotine and flavour, the stronger your nicotine level the more enhanced the flavour is”.
Nyatsanza apprises that graphic health warnings and standardised packaging applied to e-cigarette products would also reduce the ability of the sleek designs to promote the products and to create misperceptions about their safety.
The taxation of e-cigarettes is an important step forward, although other urgently required measures include regulation of flavours which appeal to children, and restrictions on e-cigarette advertising, promotion and sponsorship she forewarns.
The regulations strike a delicate balance, limiting youth initiation, while still allowing adult access, argues Dr Catherine Egbe.
Dr Egbe alludes to the fact that the World Health Organisation does not endorse e-cigarettes as cessation aids. And even South African e-cigarette companies do not officially categorise them as stop-smoking aids.
They are registered as consumer products, explains Egbe.
“If they were registered as stop-smoking aids or tobacco substitutes, the Medicines Control Council classifies nicotine e-cigarettes as Schedule 3 products to be sold under a prescription, which does not suit the business objectives of the industry.”
“E-cigarette products actually require stricter regulation to match the sophistication and diversity of the products and ensure that other innovations the industry might come up with in the future to circumvent regulations, such as synthetic nicotine, are covered”, expresses Dr Egbe of the South African Medical Research Council.