U-turn in e-cigarette policy: Whose interest is this new decision?

E-cigarettes are as harmful to health as conventional cigarettes in the market. Cigarette corporations are spreading this harmful product among teenagers through various attractive campaigns. This is harming the future of the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified all emerging tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, as products that are seriously harmful to health. Therefore, to save teenagers from addiction to e-cigarettes, the previous interim government issued a revised ordinance completely banning its promotion, import, sale and use. But we are hearing with great concern that the current government is going to lift the ban on e-cigarettes. It must be remembered that tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, are the main obstacle to the development of a smart country. 48 percent of the total population of Bangladesh is young people. According to the Global School-Based Health Survey, the tobacco use rate among students aged 13 to 15 in Bangladesh is 9.2 percent. Tobacco companies are trying to expand their business and increase profits by getting a large number of these young people addicted to tobacco products and emerging tobacco products in any way. This young generation is the main buyer of their business. Without young people, their companies will close forever. That is why they target the young generation. Strengthening the tobacco control law is very important to protect these young people and prevent the violence of tobacco companies. Currently, a lot of potential young people are getting addicted to e-cigarettes in the name of so-called modernity. Which is causing irreparable damage to the country and its development. To protect public health, the World Health Organization has urged all countries in the world to take urgent steps to control e-cigarettes. Already, 32 countries including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Singapore have banned the sale of these products due to their harmful effects. Many countries, including the United Kingdom, are working to ban these products. Previously, as a result of the long-standing movement of various anti-tobacco organizations and individuals, the previous interim government issued an amended ordinance called the Tobacco Control Ordinance. There were many important issues in it. Among them was the ban on e-cigarettes. The current elected people-friendly government should pass a law considering public health and maintaining this ban in the larger interest of the people.
Electronic cigarettes contain a nicotine solution that is heated by a battery. This creates smoke. It creates a feeling of smoking in the brain. Over the past few years, electronic cigarettes have increased in popularity all over the world. However, it is now banned in many countries in Europe. Researchers say that there are health risks for those who use e-cigarettes. A letter published in The New England Journal of Medicine says that e-cigarettes contain the disinfectant formaldehyde, which is a cancer-causing substance. Many people wonder what ingredients are actually in e-cigarettes. Researchers say that there is no easy answer to what is in e-cigarettes. Because there is no system to supervise the work of e-cigarette manufacturing companies. There is no set standard for it. There is also no proper explanation about what ingredients it is made of. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review found that some of the 18 different e-cigarettes contained toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Carcinogens are cancer-causing substances. These include nicotine. The results say that the method of determining the quality of e-cigarettes is inconsistent. Many have taken up this digital vaping system as an alternative to cigarettes or to quit cigarettes. It is said that tobacco-free e-cigarettes can be a better solution to reduce smoking addiction and prevent cigarette violence. But research says otherwise. We already know that e-cigarettes contain carcinogenic chemicals. Which are one of the causes of cancer. Researchers also claim that the chemicals in e-cigarettes can cause lung disease and respiratory infections. E-cigarettes may seem less harmful than cigarettes because they do not contain tobacco. But just like regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes also contain harmful nicotine. So there is no reason to think that e-cigarettes will break your addiction. Rather, researchers say that liquid-nicotine can make you addicted just like cigarettes. As a result, those who are quitting tobacco to avoid traditional smoking and switching to e-cigarettes are not at all safe in terms of health. And the people around you are not safe either.
A remarkable revolution has been achieved in Bangladesh under the leadership of the young generation. Change is felt everywhere now. An elected government has come by the people’s vote. Therefore, on this occasion, we also have to work to control tobacco products. We have to play a stronger role. If we cannot build a tobacco-free Bangladesh, we will never be able to give the gift of a healthy generation. Earlier, we have seen that the government of that country has taken a great initiative to cultivate food products instead of tobacco in Afghanistan. They have continued government assistance in this regard. As a result, it is seen that the farmers of their country are now producing food products other than tobacco products. This has brought many positive changes to their economy. We can also take this initiative in our country. However, we have to work seriously with e-cigarettes at present. Because in the name of modernity, it is currently being spread terribly among the youth. Which is a threat to our future. It must be stopped. The government needs to keep a close watch on this matter. In addition to various shops in the elite areas of the capital, harmful e-cigarettes are currently being sold online on various websites and Facebook pages. Experts say that currently, young people are starting to smoke with e-cigarettes. They are taking e-cigarettes as a hobby and later becoming full-fledged smokers. Because, although e-cigarettes are marketed as an alternative to regular cigarettes, they are actually an addictive product. According to various research data and health experts, e-cigarettes or vape have proven to be more dangerous than regular cigarettes because they contain various harmful chemicals in addition to nicotine. According to research data from the Department of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, 109 countries around the world have already taken measures to ban and control e-cigarettes, considering the harmful aspects of this product. Our neighboring countries, India and Nepal, are among these countries. In addition, recently, considering the harm of e-cigarettes, the Australian government has completely banned the import of vaping or e-cigarettes. Many have opened websites just for selling e-cigarettes. They also offer the facility of selling online at lower prices than in stores and delivering them to their homes. Since young people are the main buyers of the online market, they can buy from anywhere in the country, which is basically making e-cigarettes easily available.
In the face of growing demands from anti-tobacco activists, the interim government banned the import of e-cigarettes or ENDS in January last year to protect public health. The ordinance was later approved on December 23, which further expanded the definition of tobacco products. Along with adding several new provisions to control tobacco consumption, ENDS and other new types of tobacco products were banned. Section 6(c) of the ordinance states that no person shall manufacture, import, export, store, advertise, promote, promote, sponsor, market, distribute, buy, sell or transport electronic nicotine delivery systems, their components or parts (e-cigarettes, vape, vaping, vaporizers and e-liquids, etc.), heated tobacco products or emerging tobacco products, by whatever name they may be called. If convicted of this offense, a person can be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding 2 lakh taka or both. If someone commits the same offense a second time or repeatedly, the penalty rate will be doubled in stages. If the offender under this section is a company, the related products will be confiscated. In addition, the owner, manager or person in charge of the company will be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding 5 lakh taka or both. In case of repetition of the offense, the license of that company to manufacture and sell tobacco and tobacco products will be canceled. Any person can be fined up to 5 thousand taka for using these prohibited products. Section 5 (a) of the ordinance states that all tobacco products and their packaging must be kept out of sight at the point of sale except when selling directly to the buyer. According to the American Stroke Association, the use of flavoring agents in e-cigarettes increases the risk of long-term diseases of the respiratory system, liver and kidneys. The risk of larynx in e-cigarettes increases by 59 percent. In addition, the nicotine in e-cigarettes is also dangerous for the intellectual development of the unborn child and pregnant mothers. In many places where smoking is prohibited, the use of e-cigarettes is allowed. And that is why their demand is increasing. By using e-cigarettes, you cannot actually stop smoking. On the contrary, people are causing greater danger by spending more on smoking. A study in Japan has shown that e-cigarettes are ten times more harmful than regular cigarettes. Any addiction is harmful. Therefore, public awareness should be created about e-cigarettes as well as regular cigarettes. Because on this occasion, companies are selling these products to increase profits. This smoke is also much more harmful to the people around them. We need to protect the young people from this vicious clutches. All sectors of society need to work together on this issue. We need to remember that this is a hidden killer. Which kills people bit by bit. The issue is not that e-cigarettes or vaping are completely new. The original and widely used form of smoking has just been re-presented in a modern way. The harmful chemicals, including nicotine, that you will find in bidi-cigarettes are often the same in e-cigarettes. However, some innovations or novelties have been brought in the consumption pattern and external appearance. For example, design. Although all cigarettes are almost the same size, there is variation in the size and design of e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are available in various shapes such as curved pipes, pens, phones or USB drives. If we look at the results of some more research, the matter will become clear. In 2018, a joint study report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of the United States, based on a review of more than four hundred research reports, said that young people using e-cigarettes are at serious risk of coughing, shortness of breath, and asthma. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared vaping an epidemic that year due to the alarming increase in vaping-related illnesses and deaths among young people! However, the American Lung Association has been warning the FDA about this for the past decade. Black market e-juice uses other chemicals in addition to conventional chemicals. For example, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the most recognized component of marijuana! And the amount of intoxication in it is so high that consumers keep increasing the dose.
Therefore, keeping these issues in mind, the current government will hopefully reconsider their decision, taking public health into account. And this is the demand of our youth society to pass a law that upholds the rules that were in the ordinance banning e-cigarettes.
Md. Tasnim Hasan Abir
Youth Advocate, Dhaka Ahsania Mission Youth for Health and Wellbeing.