8 students in Hanoi hospitalized due to electronic cigarettes

On the afternoon of December 7, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh, Principal of Hoang Liet Primary School, confirmed that a student of the school was poisoned by e-cigarettes and was promptly taken to the emergency room by the school.

Hoang Liet Primary School, Hoang Mai District, Hanoi.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh, the incident was determined to have occurred on December 5. At that time, a third-grade student picked up an e-cigarette that had fallen on the street and brought it to class. After lunch, some students in the same class were curious and tried it, while others inhaled the smoke and showed signs of nausea.

Immediately after discovery, the school took the children to the medical room for examination, and invited parents and school leaders to take the children to the hospital for timely examination.

According to initial investigation, among the 8 students who went to the hospital for examination, 1 student tried smoking, 4 students said they put cigarettes in their mouths. The remaining 3 students, when examined by the doctor, no longer had the symptoms they initially reported.

The principal of Hoang Liet Primary School added that, through this incident, the school has sent recommendations and increased propaganda to parents about the harmful effects of electronic cigarettes, and at the same time asked parents to coordinate with the school to strictly control the items that students bring to school.

Regarding the harmful effects of electronic cigarettes, a representative of the Respiratory Center, Bach Mai Hospital said that new generation tobacco products (electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products) all contain very toxic chemical ingredients. Nicotine in these products is a strong addictive substance that makes users dependent on these new generation tobacco products, and their use can lead to or maintain the use of other nicotine-containing products, including cigarettes, as well as increase the risk of using alcohol, drugs and other addictive substances.

Notably, new generation cigarette smoke contains carcinogens, increasing the risk of lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, stomach cancer, etc. in users.

According to the results of the 2015 Adult Tobacco Use Survey, the overall rate of e-cigarette use was 0.2%. By 2019, according to the results of the "2019 Vietnamese Student Health Survey" by the World Health Organization, the current rate of e-cigarette use among 13-17 year old students nationwide was 2.6%, (3.4% among urban students).

In 2020, according to the 2020 Tobacco Use Survey in 34 provinces and cities of Vietnam, the rate of adult men currently using e-cigarettes was 5.6%, and adult women using e-cigarettes was 1%.

According to Tin Tuc newspaper