The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) expressed concern over the rising use of e-cigarettes among adolescents, as a survey last year showed that 80.9 percent of e-liquids contained nicotine and some also contained harmful or potentially harmful ingredients.
E-cigarettes pose potential health risks, but they are often marketed in various forms or names and claim to have health benefits, such as vitamin aromatherapy sticks and food flavor e-juices, and have rapidly attracted many children and adolescents to try them out, the agency said.
According to the US’ National Youth Tobacco Survey last year, e-cigarette use among adolescents increased drastically between 2017 and last year: The rate jumped from 3.3 percent to 4.9 percent among middle-school students, and from 11.7 percent to 20.8 percent among high-school students, the agency said.
E-cigarettes have become the most commonly used tobacco product among US adolescents, it added.
A similar trend can be observed in Taiwan, with a survey conducted by the agency last year showing that e-cigarette usage reached 1.9 percent among middle-school students and 3.4 percent among high-school students — both of which were higher than the 0.6 percent usage rate among adults, it said.
Moreover, the rates of middle-school and high-school students smoking both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes were higher at 0.8 percent and 1.9 percent respectively, compared with 0.5 percent in adults, it added.
Just as the increase in e-cigarette use among young people can be seen in some countries where such products can only be sold to adults, its usage rate among young people has also surpassed that among adults in Taiwan, although the nation does not allow sales of e-cigarette and heated tobacco products.
An inspection conducted by the Food and Drug Administration on 1,102 e-liquids last year showed that 80.9 percent contained nicotine, which should be controlled and registered as medicine according to regulations.
Unapproved manufacturing or import of such products can constitute a breach of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法), associated with making or importing counterfeit or illegal drugs, it added.
Citing an information sheet by the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative saying that “all forms of tobacco use are harmful, including heated tobacco products,” the agency said they contain the highly addictive substance nicotine, harmful and potentially harmful additives, and even carcinogenic compounds.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has launch an interdepartmental initiative to enhance e-cigarette prevention, it said, adding that the ministry encourages people to report illegal sales of e-cigarettes.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS