Research across 11 provinces and cities in Vietnam shows that the rate of e-cigarette use among students aged 13-15 rose to eight percent in 2023 from 3.5 percent in 2022, with one WHO representative wanting a ban on this type of cigarette.

Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy director overseeing management and administration at the Department of Medical Service Administration under the Ministry of Health, spotlighted the figure at a seminar on Friday.

Between 2015 and 2020, the percentage of people aged 15 and older using e-cigarettes surged to 3.6 percent from 0.2 percent.

Increasing, complicated diversity

During Friday’s conference, Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, director of the Poison Control Center of Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, highlighted the increasing diversity and difficulty in controlling new generation cigarettes.

Dr. Nguyen pointed out that the latest type is the fourth generation, known as pod mods, which come in various shapes and sizes, with interchangeable bases, multiple refills, and contain nicotine, synthetic cannabis, and flavors.

“Of particular note is the use of nicotine in salt form rather than free form,” he noted. 

“Salt nicotine has a lower pH level than free nicotine, making it easier to inhale larger amounts with less respiratory irritation. 

“This also facilitates faster absorption of nicotine into the body.”

Dr. Nguyen added that the center has treated many patients poisoned by e-cigarettes containing marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids.

They suffered from conditions such as brain damage, heart damage, kidney failure, and acute lung failure.

In 2023, the center handled approximately 150 emergency cases of e-cigarette poisoning and has admitted nearly 100 patients from the beginning of 2024.

“Recently, we received a 20-year-old man in Hanoi who was hospitalized for e-cigarette poisoning,” he recounted. 

“Around 4:00 am on June 26, his family found him convulsing and unconscious. 

“He was initially taken to a local hospital and later transferred to our center in a coma, with respiratory failure, multi-organ damage, severe metabolic acidosis, brain and heart damage, and kidney failure. 

“Testing revealed that the e-cigarette he used contained synthetic marijuana. 

“Currently, he is still undergoing treatment.”

WHO representative wants a ban 

Dr. Nguyen Tuan Lam, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), highlighted that while new generation tobacco products are currently not licensed for importation, advertising, or sale in Vietnam, pirated products are widely available as a result of loose law enforcement.

The WHO recommends that the legislature issue a resolution prohibiting the importation, production, distribution, and sale of nicotine products, and that electronic delivery systems not include contain nicotine. 

Advertising and promotion of these products should also be prohibited in Vietnam, with clear regulations on enforcement responsibilities and sanctions.

“In the long term, Vietnam needs to transfer and finalize these ban regulations through an amendment to the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harm,” Dr. Lam said.

In response, Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, deputy director of the Legal Department under the Ministry of Health, noted that five ASEAN countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Brunei -- currently ban e-cigarettes.

“The Vietnamese Ministry of Health is preparing documents and plans for submission to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal of a draft resolution,” Thuy said. 

“The regulations will prohibit all production, sale, import, storage, and advertising of electronic cigarettes, heated cigarettes, and other new-generation tobacco products to safeguard public health, especially among the younger generation. 

“If approved by the government, the resolution is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for approval during the coming October sitting.”

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