Vaping vs Smoking: Is e-cigarette really safer than smoking?
Is there a coil? Gee coil? This question passed over my head but the shopkeeper shook his head in affirmation & handed a small piece to the customer.
Just a few moments later a loud voice was heard saying Oh boss thank you very much! It was sorely missed.
When I looked to the right the same man with his face on the counter wrapped in a cloud of smoke & his arms outstretched was in such a state that he was in such a state that he did not care that there were four other people in the shop. The melody continued for a while.
This is a view of a store located in F-6 a covered area of Islamabad where electronic cigarettes e-cigarettes or vapors are sold.
E-cigarettes usually contain nicotine which is an addictive ingredient in cigarettes & probably the person who said thank you repeatedly wanted same chemical.
Until a few years ago many young people may not have even heard of the Vap Store but now there are many such shops only in the twin cities of Rawalpindi & Islamabad.
Is this an e-cigarette and why is it growing so fast in Pakistan? Is it safer than cigarettes? What are the laws in country regarding vaping?
To find the answers to all these questions I visited various web stores and talked to many young people who are attracted to it.
Growing trend of e-cigarettes or vaping in Pakistan
The number of tobacco users in Pakistan is more than 23.9 million. According to the Tobacco Control Cell set up by the government of Pakistan out of this total about 16 million people use tobacco through cigarettes.
Cigarette packs were required by law in 2015 to post scary images in 90% of the packages to warn users of the dangers.
In contrast colorful packaging, comfortable chairs in the store & e-cigarettes often sold without warning, are attracting more and more people, especially young people.
The growing trend of vaping is mostly found in urban areas of the country, but as the demand for it is increasing, you can now see these e-cigarettes being sold in grocery stores & pen-cigarette shops as well.
E-cigarettes made in Chinese and Pakistani textiles are now being sold in the market for at least Rs. Is done
Shah Rukh Jahangir manager of a vape store in Bahria Town Rawalpindi described the growing trend of e-cigarettes. Are resorting.
The younger generation is more likely to have a vaper & a suspicion.
The stench you get after smoking is gone & you are not ashamed in front of people & family.
Ahmed Imtiaz a 22 year old student decided to quit smoking because of the different flavors available in Vap &he says he is now Minty Fresh.
Is e-cigarette really safer than smoking?
Many consumers who quit smoking & move to VAPE have the impression that they have now moved on to something that has far fewer harms than cigarettes.
Haider Amin who has been addicted to cigarettes for 2 and a half years believes that after using Vape he is satisfied that he is not burning thousands of cancer-causing chemicals into his lungs.
It is true that the nicotine in e-cigarettes is relatively less harmful than the many toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke such as tar & carbon monoxide.
Tobacco in regular cigarettes kills thousands of smokers each year but unlike tobacco nicotine does not cause cancer.
According to the World Health Organization approximately 8 million people worldwide die each year from tobacco use.
Doctors health professionals anti-cancer organizations and governments in the UK agree that e-cigarettes pose a much lower risk than existing cigarettes.
However this does not mean that e-cigarettes are completely safe.
According to Dr. Jaffar Khan a pulmonologist working at Shifa Hospital in Islamabad however it contains nicotine which is a narcotic ingredient and its addiction can be very detrimental to people health.
Research from around the world has so far failed to provide a definitive opinion on the long term effects of vaping which is why many countries public health agencies do not recommend it as an alternative to quitting smoking.
Are there any laws regarding e-cigarette content in Pakistan?
According to a 2018 study by the World Health Organization the number of people using VAPE worldwide is over 41 million & it is clear that this number has increased dramatically in the last four years.
There are no rules regarding vaping &e-cigarettes in Pakistan whereas in the UK United kingdom United State there are strict rules regarding the content of e-cigarettes.
In the UK United kingdom for example e-cigarettes have a limit on the amount of nicotine they can use for safety and are closely monitored for how they can be advertised and where and how they can be sold.
On the other hand, e-cigarettes and VAP are completely banned in neighboring India. Lack of law in Pakistan in this regard means that there is no check on the quality of imported vaping machines.
An official from the Pakistan Standards Quality Control Authority told the British news that e-cigarettes of any kind were not on their "mandatory list & that they were therefore not authorized to monitor their quality.
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Salman Sufi Advisor to Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Reforms said that the government officially discourages e-cigarettes or vaping.
Salman Sufi said that the health departments of the provincial governments were collecting data on the effects of VAP & e-cigarettes on the people and only after collecting it would they be able to decide whether to ban it completely or not. Introduce strict regulation.
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