Medics in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have voiced fresh concerns over the use of vaping products and raised doubts over their use as an option for cigarette smokers wanting to quit the nicotine habit.
The e-cigarette alert came in a new study titled ‘Electronic Cigarette Prevalence and Knowledge Among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain: A Cross-National Study’.
In total 1,730 medical students gave their opinion in a recently published study conducted by Saudi-based Umm Al-Qura University in Mecca.
When asked whether they considered vaping as addictive or not, an overwhelming 68 per cent agreed that they were as addictive, if not more so, than cigarettes.
American Mission Hospital (AMH) general physician and head of the hospital’s anti-smoking clinic Dr Babu Ramachandran stressed the importance of awareness regarding the use of e-cigarettes.
“Education on the matter is important,” he said. “It is especially important among young people as children as young as 14 are vaping these days, so never mind medical school, education needs to start before that.”
AMH pulmonologist and internal medicine specialist Dr Chellaraja Chellasamy agreed with his colleague. “It is not just university students, even high schoolers are getting addicted,” he said. “Education on the matter is crucial and it needs to start in schools.”
An e-cigarette, also known as a vape, is a device that simulates smoking tobacco. It consists of a power source such as a battery, and a cartridge or tank filled with liquid. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapour, hence the term, ‘vaping’.
Experts have globally recorded cases of E-cigarette/Vaping Use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI), a dangerous inflammatory condition of the lungs. Symptoms include breathlessness, fatigue, palpitations and coughing. Other illnesses include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness and arrhythmia.
Device designs that resemble toys, food, cartoon characters or other consumables have the potential to entice youth, food and drugs agencies have warned. The designs may give the impression that the products are less dangerous, while inhaling through a small bendy straw, for example, may encourage young people to experiment.
According to the survey, almost half of the medical students, about 49.7pc, said that vaping did not lower the risk of cancer in patients as opposed to regular smoking, while 22.9pc believed that it did reduce the risk and 27.4pc were unsure. Asked whether they would recommend the use of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation method, 54.1pc said they would not. They also called for more information on the subject.
More than 32pc of the participants in the survey were from Bahrain and the rest were from Saudi Arabia.
The use of e-cigarettes is unsafe for children, teens and young adults. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s. E-cigarettes can also contain other harmful substances besides nicotine.
“They were originally promoted as a smoking cessation method,” added Dr Ramachandran. “But that is far from the truth. If anything, it might potentially be even more addictive because teenagers are vaping these days without having picked up a cigarette.
“It is not just water vapour inside the devices – there are plenty of harmful substances.”
Dr Chellasamy claimed: “Vaping is many times more addictive than normal cigarettes. The amount of nicotine entering the user’s system is much higher too.
“Many studies have shown that they do more harm to respiratory and cardiovascular functions, so vaping is not a suitable option to help people stop smoking, in my opinion.”
The study also looked at e-cigarette smokers among medical students themselves, with results showing that there was a significant association between gender and e-cigarette smoking status.
Out of the participants, 295 admitted to being active users, out of which 184 were men, and only 97 were women.
In 2016, GCC countries agreed to introduce an excise tax on harmful products including tobacco. Saudi Arabia was the first to introduce the tax in June 2017 and Bahrain followed in December later that year, with vaping products included as well.
According to the World Health Organisation vaping has been banned or restricted in more than 30 countries including India, Türkiye, Brazil, Oman, Qatar and Singapore.
The GDN contacted officials from the Health Ministry, who have confirmed that the ministry’s official stance is that vaping is considered in the same light as smoking cigarettes and is not a recommended smoking cessation method.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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