Experts in China are calling for the control of electronic cigarettes, as the public lacks awareness¹ of the potential health effects of vaping, reports thepaper.cn.

 

中国的专家们呼吁对电子烟进行控制，因为公众对电子烟潜在的健康威胁缺乏认知。

 

Invented by a Chinese pharmacist in 2003, e-cigarettes are commonly believed to be safer than tobacco cigarettes and may help smokers² quit. But some experts are warning that e-cigarettes are not harmless, and have called into question their usefulness in helping³ people to stop smoking.

 

E-cigarettes usually contains nicotine⁴, which makes second-hand⁵ smoke from e-cigarettes harmful, according to Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association.

 

And Professor Cui Xiaobo from Capital Medical University said that e-cigarettes can be an ineffective smoking cessation aid. This is because breaking the addition to smoking involves breaking the addiction⁶ to nicotine, which is found in both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Professor Cui also said that research shows young people start using e-cigarettes because they are fashionable, but then often start smoking regular cigarettes.

 

There are currently no regulations on e-cigarettes in China when it comes to tobacco control, health care, or production management. And the use of e-cigarettes is not prohibited in public places, because it is not categorized as a tobacco product.

 

The general public has started to pay more attention to the use of e-cigarettes after several recent incidents. Last month, an Air China co-pilot sent a plane into an emergency descent after he turned off the plane's air supply so he could use an e-cigarette. And earlier this week, a passenger used an e-cigarette in a Beijing subway carriage, sparking complaints.

 

"We are currently calling for the relevant departments to introduce a regulation to standardize⁷ and control e-cigarettes, and make it prohibited like tobacco is in public place," said Zhang Jianshu.

 

Some individual cities have taken steps to regulate e-cigarettes. In one example, authorities in Hangzhou have included inhaling⁸ or exhaling⁹ harmful vapor¹⁰ under the definition of smoking.

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