Ecigarettes are a double-edged sword as they are less dangerous than traditional cigarettes for current smokers who convert to them, but can also act as a gateway to traditional cigarettes for those who start with vaping, especially adolescents. — AFP
Two decades after they first appeared, ecigarettes have been widely credited with helping people quit smoking.
But concerns are growing over the risk of teenagers becoming hooked on nicotine through candy-coloured disposable vapes, with flavours such as chocolate and bubblegum.
We take a look back at the highs and lows of the vaping vogue.
Born in China
In 2003, Chinese pharmacist Lik Hon, a heavy smoker hoping to kick the habit, develops the first electronic alternative to cigarettes.
A year later, the firm he works for brings out the first ecigarettes.
The birth of vaping comes in the year that Ireland bans smoking in workplaces, including pubs and restaurants, sparking a global clampdown on smoking indoors.
Ecigarettes arrive on the European Union market in 2006, and a year later in the United States.
Early doubts
Many doctors welcome the devices, which are tar-free, as a potential life-saver in the fight against cancer, heart disease, strokes and other diseases caused by the toxins in traditional cigarettes.
But the World Health Organization (WHO) is sceptical about their benefits.
“As far as WHO is aware, no rigorous, peer-reviewed studies have been conducted showing that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective nicotine replacement therapy,” it says in 2008.
From the mid-2010s on, there are growing reports of the dangers of teens inhaling vapour containing nicotine, which can harm the developing adolescent brain.
More than 30 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, North Korea and Singapore ban the sale of ecigarettes.
Enters the dictionary
In 2014, “vape” is designated word of the year by the Oxford University Press and enters the dictionary.
The habit takes off in the US, Europe and parts of Asia.
The number of users shoots up from around seven million in 2011, according to the Euromonitor market research group, to 82 million a decade later, according to the US non-governmental organisation Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction.
Deadly lung illness
In 2019-2020, the US is at the centre of a health crisis tied to vaping, with at least 68 people dying and over 2,800 others falling sick with an acute lung illness linked to vaping products containing cannabis.
In February 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bans the sale of many flavoured ecigarettes, with the exception of tobacco and menthol flavours.
US ecigarette giant Juul is hit with a string of lawsuits accusing it of glamourising vaping among young people with flavours such as creme brulee, and of lying about how addictive it is.
In 2022, the company agrees to pay US$462 million (RM2,160 million) to settle cases across the US, leaving it nearly bankrupt.
Growing bans
In 2023, Western countries go to war against teen vaping.
In August (2023), New Zealand bans ecigarettes that do not have a removable or replaceable battery – a way of targeting disposable vapes – and bars manufacturers from using enticing flavour names.
On Nov 28 (2023), Australia announces it will ban imports of disposable vapes from Jan 1, 2024.
And on Dec 4 (2023), French Members of Parliament back a proposal to ban single-use electronic cigarettes, amid warnings they could act as a gateway to smoking.
The legislation still needs backing from France’s upper house Senate and clearance from the EU Commission (as of publication time).
The United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland are considering similar moves. – AFP Relaxnews
