E-cigarettes are the lesser of two evils when compared to its smoking brother– tobacco cigarette. For decades, we push people to quit and to help them control their addiction and then e-cigs were created to asset with that. But in China, it’s the other way around as people use e-cigs to actually lure in children to the habit of smoking.
The situation is worsening as China doesn’t have law in regulating ecigarettes.
Manufacturers are starting to present e-cigs to the younger population as a trend called “vaping”. They have a new target market with women, who has only 3% of China’s smoking population and it seems like they’re eyeing children as well.
China is currently the largest producer and consumer of tobacco. More than half of their men population smoke, which since then, started early in life. The countries average age for people who starts smoking is under 11 years old.
“Some campaigners worry that e-cigarettes are gaining popularity in China before awareness of tobacco’s dangers has become widespread,” reads the report.
Different flavors has been created to cater to the youngsters for a cheap cost of 15-20 Yuan or US $2.5 to 3 in China while more than 8,000 flavors are being marketed in Hong Kong for the same target market.
The group of concerned netizens pushes for a total ban of the product.
Even then, the United States had a heated argument for flavored e-cigs as well “Anyone who has only tried flavored e-cigs and then tries a real cigarette would likely be appalled at how harsh the smoke is and how bad it tastes,” a concerned netizen said while other said that “candy flavored e-cigs are designed to addict a new generation to nicotine.”
Smoking is highly associated to emphysema, lung cancer, prostate cancer, infertility, heart conditions, liver and renal diseases, gangrene and even more health problems.