E-Cigarettes or vape cigarettes have been around for some time and are today a growing trend amongst youth including teenagers. It has become fashionable and is pushed by their marketers as a ‘chic’ alternative to what modern generations consider are ‘dirty’ conventional cigarettes. Yesterday, officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) arrested a woman who was in the possession of a large consignment of smuggled electronic cigarettes, valued at over Rs. 3.9 million. The arrested woman, a 32-year-old businesswoman residing in Dematagoda area in Colombo, was arrested while attempting to leave the airport along with the smuggled e-cigarettes. According to reports, she was released on police bail. The Police have stated that she is scheduled to be produced before Negombo Magistrate’s Court on Friday (7).

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there are many different types of e-cigarettes, which are the most common type of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) and electronic non-nicotine delivery system (ENNDS). These systems heat a liquid to create aerosols that are inhaled by the user. These so-called e-liquids may or may not contain nicotine (but do not contain tobacco). They also typically contain additives, flavours and chemicals that can be harmful to people’s health. ENDS contain varying amounts of nicotine and harmful emissions. It has been found that e-cigarette emissions typically contain nicotine and other toxic substances that are harmful to both users and non-users who are exposed to aerosols second-hand. Some products claiming to be nicotine-free (ENNDS) have been found to contain nicotine. A 2018 study conducted by the University of North Carolina found that the two primary ingredients found in e-cigarettes – propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin – are toxic to cells and that the more ingredients in an e-liquid, the greater the toxicity. According to them, e-cigarettes produce a number of dangerous chemicals including acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde. It is reported that aldehydes can cause lung disease, as well as cardiovascular (heart) disease. It has also been found that e-cigarettes also contain acrolein, a herbicide primarily used to kill weeds. It can cause acute lung injury and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and may cause asthma and lung cancer. In 2019, both the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine warned about the risks of inhaling secondhand e-cigarette emissions, which are created when an e-cigarette user exhales the chemical cocktail created by e-cigarettes.

In Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Medical Association in a May 2024 publication termed e-cigarettes as “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” stating that, today it has become a popular fallacy that vapes and e-cigarettes are perfectly safe, but the reality is far more complicated. “While studies show that vaping is less dangerous than traditional smoking, it is not without risks. E-cigarettes and vapes do not contain tobacco and its combustible products, those being the principal cancer-causing ingredients in regular cigarettes. However, they still contain nicotine and other substances which are addictive and may expose users to other potentially dangerous drugs. Most Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, do not have rigorous norms or regulations in place to monitor or manage these devices, which has created a significant regulatory gap that precludes adequate control of their rising use in the Sri Lankan market. These gadgets are frequently carried into the country by hand from other countries and are mostly promoted to young people and women via popular social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, and SMS,” SLMA stated.

It is clear that the lack of understanding and awareness among parents, public officials and the modern ‘influencer’ community has resulted in young children and young adults getting addicted to these devices. As such, it is prudent for the Government to commence a robust awareness campaign pointing out the ill effects of such devices, and to update the regulatory framework which will govern its import, marketing, distribution and sale.