The Colombian League against Cancer launched the campaign ‘Stop vaping, your health is not a game’whose objective is to train student leaders from departmental schools throughout the country, who guide, accompany and raise awareness among children and adolescents about the negative impact of vaping, how they can stop doing so and prevent the early use of these devices.
According to the League “There is growing evidence that vaping may be associated with lung injury”. Likewise, the WHO warns that the use of these products increases the risk three times more than smoking conventional cigarettes and even other psychoactive substances, and of generating addiction.
“Most vape aerosols contain toxic chemicals, including nicotine, and substances that can cause cancer; They are also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and lung disorders.“, they add.
“We achieved that electronic cigarettes or vaping devices began to be regulated in Colombia, which represent a growing concern for public health due to their proliferation and impact on Colombian youth. These products are becoming very affordable, even in educational environments, for children and young people, a priority target audience for the industry to attract new customers.
Studies, based on evidence and free of conflict of interest, demonstrate that these devices are highly harmful to health and are not a safe mechanism to quit smoking. Therefore, it remains a priority that, as a society, we unite to prevent the increase in this threat to the country’s public health.”says Blanca Llorente, economist, public health specialist and advisor on tobacco issues for the Colombian League Against Cancer.
For this reason, the entity carried out during the month of May work tables and awareness workshops in different district and departmental schools nationwidel where boys, girls and adolescents were summoned to be part of coexistence committees, in order to train them as multiplier leaders on the danger of vaping devices for health, the toxic substances that make them up, the environmental pollution generated by these devices and all the risks that this trend implies in the new generations.
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On Friday, May 31, we commemorate the World No Tobacco Day in a cultural and educational event that will bring together students and teachers from the district schools: Francisco José de Caldas Industrial Technical Institute, Castilla District Educational Institution, IED El Paraíso de Manuela Beltrán – Headquarters C, Colegio Unión Colombia IED, Colegio Ricaurte, Instituto San Pablo Apóstol and the Liceo el Gran Vicerey, who have participated in these campaign working groups.
Additionally, through the 32 sections of the League, it will be developed an agenda of training, educational sessions, promotional actions and delivery of educational materials in schools, private companies and the media, with the purpose of raising awareness and raising awareness about smoking, vaping devices and their consequences.
Impact figures in Colombia
According to the study ‘First data on the disease associated with vaping in Colombia’, carried out by the Colombian Association of Pulmonology and Thorax Surgery, the National Survey of Psychoactive Substances of Colombia (ENCSP) and the death reports from DANE (RIPS); It was revealed that between 2020 and 2022, there were 245 cases of diseases related to vaping and 59 associated deaths, with a consumption prevalence of 4.37%.
The habitual consumption of electronic cigarettes in the country is concentrated in Bogotá, Caldas, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Boyacá, with 60% young adult consumers. In addition, the territories that reported the highest number of deaths are Antioquia (69%) and Boyacá (27%), followed by Sucre (1.69%) and Tolima (1.69%).
The study Prevalence and Psychosocial Factors Associated with the Consumption of Electronic Nicotine Administration Systems – ENDS in the university population of Bogotá revealed that 37.8% of undergraduate students have used electronic cigarettes at some point in their liveswith a higher prevalence in men (49.4%) than in women (31.5%).
It is noteworthy that 48% of university students stated that they had tried electronic cigarettes before the age of 19. 5% of students claim to have added cannabis to their electronic cigarettes and 26.7% have also consumed conventional cigarettes in the last 30 days.
Damage caused by the consumption of these devices
In addition to nicotine, e-cigarettes can contain a variety of potentially harmful and toxic substances, such as heavy metals, lead, volatile organic compounds and carcinogens. Even the vapor generated by electronic cigarettes is not simply water; In fact, it contains harmful chemicals and very fine particles that can be inhaled into the lungs and subsequently exhaled into the environment.
Likewise, these devices They often include additives, flavors and chemicals that can pose risks to human health.
According to the Colombian Society of Pediatrics, the consumption of these devices causes significant damage to health, since nicotine affects the development of neuronal circuits that are responsible for controlling attention and learning, and Its use is associated with internalizing problems, depression, suicidal tendencies, eating disorders, externalizing problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, impulsivity and perceived stress.
In the world, More than 8 million people die every year due to tobacco use.and in Colombia, the consumption of these products is the fifth cause of death and disability, and represents more than 34 thousand deaths each year.
Mortality attributable to tobacco consumption represents 45% due to chronic respiratory diseases, 24% due to cancer and 15% of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases. The total economic cost of smoking worldwide, derived from health expenditures and associated productivity losses, is estimated at $1.4 trillion, which is equivalent to 1.8% of the 2012 annual global GDP.
Colombian legislation
The approval of the Law 2354 of May 9, 2024which regulates the use of vaping devices in Colombia, represents an important step towards the protection of children and youth against the risks associated with the consumption of these products, which represent a growing concern due to their proliferation and the impact on the Colombian population.
The law addresses the regulation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (EANS), Similar Non-Nicotine Systems (SSSN) and Heated Tobacco Products (HTC).
With this measure, electronic cigarettes must:
- Have health warnings of adequate size on packaging that inform about the harmful effects of consumption.
- Advertising, promotion and sponsorship will be prohibited in all media.
- There must be strict controls for its commercialization.
- Aerosol-free public spaces (open and closed) will have to be created.
Virtual course ‘Collective action for tobacco control’
On World No Tobacco Day, the virtual leadership course ‘Collective Action for Tobacco Control’ begins again, a pedagogical, theoretical and practical tool that will provide participants with the capacities for knowledge, communication, community leadership and informed decision making, based on evidence, on tobacco control.
Registration is still open for those interested in participating in this course, through the website. It is made up of nine modules, under the virtual and free modality, which will allow student interaction through self-learning and will favor the distance training experience.
The course will offer pedagogical resources such as animated videos, interviews with experts, infographics, in-depth readings, learning evaluations, practical exercises and streaming. At the end, a certificate will be awarded to the participants.
Among the topics that will be discussed are the epidemiology of smoking, tobacco products and their derivatives; regulatory framework for tobacco control, tools to guarantee tobacco control in Colombia, among others.