UAE BARQ برق الإمارات – نبضك
The obsession of quitting smoking almost never leaves smokers minds, especially with age and the prevailing symptoms of diseases that were not previously a concern, such as shortness of breath, heart disease, persistent cough and stomach pain, among others.
Young people are now using what has become known as Electronic cigarettes as an alternative to traditional smoking and a way of quitting with time, but the reality and studies show otherwise; electronic cigarettes carry the same traditional components, damage, and risk of traditional smoking addiction, and using it to quit is only a psychological delusion and nothing more.
Al Bayan newspaper monitored dozens of websites and special accounts on social media that sell electronic cigarettes and their components of filters and juices with different fruit flavors. There are more than 130 flavors, so there are more options of flavors than in traditional cigarettes.
Dr Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, MOHAP’s assistant undersecretary for Health Centres and Clinics confirms that smoking in all its forms and types is harmful to health, including electronic cigarette, which causes damage in more than one stage and form, resulting in unimaginable risks. First of all, E-Cigarettes contain a battery, and may result in an explosion or burns, the liquid contains nicotine, even if otherwise is written on the packages.
Al Rand added that the electronic cigarette comes in several flavors (lemons, berries, peaches, and other flavors such as tobacco flavor, vanilla flavor and chocolate) to encourage adolescents in particular, while we seek in the Ministry of Health and Prevention to fight smoking in all its forms.
He also pointed out another risk of the Electronic cigarette, stating that when a son smokes a traditional cigarette, everyone can smell him, but the Electronic cigarette does not cause any smell. Everyone, including women and children who want to smoke, can smoke away from the eyes and noses of their parents.
Dr Bassam Mahboob, head of respiratory department at Rashid Hospital, said: “Nowadays, smoking is taking many forms. It is no longer just a cigarette. It has evolved into an electronic cigarette, hookah, and dookhah, which are hundreds of times the damage of a cigarette, The phenomenon of electronic cigarette has spread recently among young people and adolescents, university and school students, and even among girls to the extent that some consider smoking as a sign of class, and increased self-confidence.
He added: Studies have shown that smoking, including electronic cigarettes, which some claim does not contain nicotine, is a major cause of many serious diseases, such as cancer, especially lung cancer, as well as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, , frequent coughing, accumulation of phlegm in the lungs of the smoker, allergic asthma, atherosclerosis, blood clots, destruction of internal vascular membranes, loss of flexibility, and addiction to this bad habit.
Mahboub said: “The midwakh that young people use is very different from other types of tobacco products, because they contain a very high nicotine ratio, pointing out that the users of this type of smoking show signs of addiction more quickly, as the hospitals received cases of young people suffering from lips or hands discoloartion, indicating a high proportion of nicotine in the body to a large degree.
He pointed out that the growing risk of respiratory diseases in the region is due to a number of reasons, including the high smoking and obesity levels, adding that the diseases of the chest are a major health problem that overshadows all health systems, pointing out that the response to respiratory diseases requires a comprehensive approach that includes all aspects of public health care, and support of specialists in this area, taking into account the unique factors of culture and environment in the region to ensure effective management and compliance with medical care.
