Cambodia's Health Ministry issues guidelines to prevent e-cigarettes

 


Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Concerned over the rising use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) among Cambodian youth and the health risks these products pose, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on Friday issued guidelines to prevent the sale and use of these products in public and private educational institutions.

According to the ministry’s directive issued by Minister Hang Chuon Naron and obtained yesterday by the Khmer Times, the guidelines aim to prevent the use of e-cigarettes and HTPs as they are dangerous to people’s health and pose the risk of heart and lung disease and the long-term impact on brain development in children and youths.

The ministry has issued to all educational units under the ministry in the capital and provinces in public and private institutions guidelines for educators and students about the effects of e-cigarettes and HTPs.

The Ministry strictly prohibits the use, distribution and advertising of these products inside and around schools and campuses.

The Ministry also instructed all relevant educational units to collaborate with students’ parents, guardians, educators and students to identify e-cigarette and HTPs distribution sites and report the location to authorities for legal action.



The Ministry of Health spokesman Dr Ly Sovann said on Friday e-cigarettes contain high levels of nicotine, which is highly addictive, and is seriously detrimental to people’s health.

“The Ministry of Health has banned the import and use of such products such as hookah pipes and e-cigarettes in Cambodia,” Dr Sovann told Khmer Times.

Dr Kong Mom, director of the Cambodia Movement for Health (CMH), said that sales of e-cigarettes and hookah pipes targets the nine to 25 age group.

Dr Mom said that the Ministry of Health issued a directive to ban the import and use of these products in 2014.  

He added that although the government placed restrictions on these products in Cambodia, they are used openly by students and other young Cambodians.

“To protect our Cambodian children and youth who are the future of the country, I strongly agree and support with the Ministry of Health in totally banning the import and use of e-cigarette products in Cambodia,” Dr Mom told Khmer Times.

“I also totally support for authorities to take strict action and measures to enforce the import ban on these products in our country,” he said. 

Dr Mom said Asean members Brunei, Thailand, and Singapore have also prohibited the import and use of e-cigarette products in their countries.



 

Dr. Mom added that according to his organisation’s research, among those who were killed by infectious diseases such as AIDS or Tuberculosis or traffic accidents, the people who were died by cigarette smoking marked the first, and there are more than 15,000 people who die every day in Cambodia.

On Friday, the Ministry of Health showed the impacts caused by the use of E-Cigarettes (or Vape) and SISHA on the people’s health, especially the youths or students who are the bamboo shoots and the future human resources in the country.

The Ministry of Health announced that E-Cigarette is Electronic Nicotine Delivery System-ENDDS and Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery System-ENDDS.  

The Ministry of Health said that E-Cigarette contain 99 percent and different amounts of Nicotine and emissions that are highly harmful to health. 

It is addictive and affects the heart and lungs to the point of death.    

The Ministry said that the government has banned the use and the import of these electronic products in 2014 and in October  2021, the ministry suggested for cooperation the Ministry of Interior, the National Authority for Combating Drugs and other relevant authorities to crack down on it. 

The Ministry added that but recently, these prohibited products had been used by the youths and these products were publicly advertised through other social media such as Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok and Extra.               

The National Police last week ordered the police to cooperate with all relevant authorities to crack down on the use of SISHA and E-Cigarettes in cities and provinces.

The National Police also ordered to arrest those who would have trafficked these prohibited products and sent them to the court to be punished by the laws.

 



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