보건복지부 영문홈페이지

E-cigarette is Cigarette, Not Smoking Cessation Aid!

- Government releases the list carcinogens contained in e-cigarette vapor                          and plans additional chemical substance analysis –

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister: Moon Hyung-pyo) stated that e-cigarettes increasingly used by smokers contained same carcinogens as in tobacco cigarettes and stressed that it will strongly curb advertisings which promote e-cigarettes as anti-smoking aids.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the chemical analysis of e-cigarette vapor found carcinogens such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and tobacco-specific nitrosamine as well as nicotine, the addictive substance in e-cigarette.

* The 2011 chemical analysis of e-cigarette liquid has been already released, but the 2012 chemical analysis of e-cigarette vapor has been the first of its kind to be released to the public.

-           Of the 105 e-cigarette nicotine liquid brands sold in the market, 30 brands showing relatively high level of contaminants were selected for e-cigarette vapor analysis to identify toxic and carcinogen substances. The analysis showed the following result:

The nicotine in e-cigarette vapor was in the range of 1.18~6.35g/m³ (Ave. 2.83g/m³), approximately double the amount contained in a tobacco cigarette. 

Considering that the lethal dose of nicotine for adults is 35~36mg, some 150 puffs from the e-cigarette containing the highest level of nicotine would cause lethal effects.

-      The e-cigarette vapor analysis showed lower level of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and tobacco-specific nitrosamine than found in tobacco smoke.

However, given that e-cigarette is difficult to measure how much one smoked unlike in the case of tobacco cigarettes and that the amount of nicotine inhaled into the body from e-cigarette can be much greater than from smoking traditional cigarettes depending on one’s smoking habit, e-cigarette cannot be regarded as non-hazardous.   

-      In 2014, when the research team at the National Institute of Public Health in Japan conducted the vapor analysis of e-cigarettes sold in the market, it found that e-cigarette contained carcinogens like acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, and the level of formaldehyde was at most 10 times greater than found in traditional cigarettes. Formaldehyde is a well known carcinogen associated with sick house syndrome.

The position of WHO on e-cigarettes is as follows:

-      An appropriate governmental body must restrict e-cigarette manufactures from marketing e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids since there is insufficient scientific evidence to conclude that e-cigarettes help users quit smoking.

-      Nicotine patches, quit-smoking drugs and other smoking cessation aids certified by WHO and individual governments minimize withdrawal symptoms by helping bodies absorb nicotine without causing addiction and help users kick the smoking habit.

On the other hand, e-cigarette use may lead to nicotine addiction as users are exposed to nicotine in a short period of time, and for this reason, e-cigarette cannot be regarded as smoking-cessation aid.

-      In addition, the amount of nicotine absorbed into the body from e-cigarettes vary depending on user’s smoking habit or nicotine concentration level in e-cigarettes, and nicotine is an addictive substance that can cause cardiovascular disease and is harmful to pregnant mothers.

-      Recognizing such harmful effects of e-cigarettes, 13 countries including Singapore and Brazil banned the sale of e-cigarettes and 30 countries including Korea prohibit e-cigarette use indoors in public and work places. (2014 WHO FCTC Implementation Report)

An official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare clearly stated that e-cigarettes need to be treated as conventional cigarettes and said that since e-cigarettes produce various carcinogens similarly found in tobacco cigarettes and expose non-smokers to nicotine, e-cigarettes are banned from indoor use and should not be regarded as smoking cessation aid. 

-      He also noted that when adolescents use e-cigarette to emulate the real smoking experience, e-cigarette may serve as a gateway to nicotine addiction and ultimately smoking. Thus, he emphasized the importance of strictly prohibiting adolescents from using e-cigarettes and added that the Ministry of Gender Equality already designated e-cigarettes as harmful object to adolescents in 2011.

-      The official also said that e-cigarettes are easily available in the market since they can be sold by distributers’ filing an import report with the local municipal government, and they have harmful effects such as nicotine addiction because basic product quality and safety of e-cigarettes are not sufficiently regulated.

-      Therefore, the government will educate the public about the harmful effect of e-cigarettes and strengthen its monitoring of e-cigarette advertising and promotion online.

The government will conduct additional chemical toxic analysis of e-cigarettes newly launched since 2012 in the first half of this year and develop measures on e-cigarettes after thoroughly analyzing harmful effects.

The government will also strictly ban the use of e-cigarettes in non-smoking areas, closely monitor online sales and advertising of e-cigarettes and strongly regulate those who target teenagers or post misleading advertisements.