The John Tung Foundation yesterday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to place electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in the same legal category as regular cigarettes.
“E-cigarettes contain liquid nicotine. In terms of Article 2 of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法), e-cigarettes should be regarded as regular cigarettes,” foundation president Yau Sea-wain (姚思遠) said.
The article stipulates that anything made from tobacco or related products designed for smoking, chewing, swallowing or snuffing should be classified in the same category as cigarettes.
“E-cigarettes are cigarettes, as they fit the profile and definition,” said Lin Ching-li (林清麗), chief of the foundation’s tobacco hazard prevention section.
Lin said the foundation had received complaints from the public that e-cigarettes were on sale on Zhongxiao E Rd, at Shilin Night Market and Ximending (西門町), where large numbers of young people gather, for between NT$2,000 and NT$3,000.
“Smoking e-cigarettes should not be regarded as a substitute for smoking, because smokers still absorb nicotine from them,” she said.
Taiwan Society of Health-Promoting Hospitals president Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) said that consumers risked being poisoned if they smoked too many electronic cigarettes in a short period.
“E-cigarette smokers can also become addicted because of the nicotine,” she said. “What will happen if you absorb too much nicotine? Well, it could kill you.”
Chiou said Hong Kong’s Department of Health was considering regulating e-cigarettes more stringently than regular cigarettes.
She urged the DOH to follow suit.
The foundation yesterday also made public the results of a questionnaire that showed there were fewer smokers in public places since new regulations banning smoking in public places took effect on Jan. 11.
The questionnaire, conducted between Feb. 5 and Feb. 13, was sent to 335 companies. Out of these companies, just 17 said they had not strictly followed the new law.
From the results, the foundation estimated that approximately 60,000 establishments around the country had not implemented the regulations properly, meaning many smokers were still flaunting the law.
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