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Ban on smoking in public places faces new problem - e-cigarettes
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Law enforcement officers can impose fines on those who smoke traditional cigarettes in public places, but they are powerless to act against those who use e-cigarettes. (Shutterstock/File)
E
-cigarettes are increasingly used by smokers in China, but there are currently no national regulations on their use, China Daily reported Thursday.
The Beijing Tobacco Control Association has received a growing number of reports and complaints about e-cigarettes being used in public places. However, the existing control regulation in the capital city covers only traditional tobacco products that are lighted, the report said.
Law enforcement officers can impose fines on those who smoke traditional cigarettes in public places, but they are powerless to act against those who use e-cigarettes.
Yang Jie, a researcher at the Tobacco Control Office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said e-cigarettes are not considered drugs or electronic products, causing "a dilemma" over effective supervision, according to the report.
E-cigarettes use battery-powered cartridges to produce a flavored vapor that often contains nicotine.
Read also: E-cigarette usage nearly doubles in US high-schools: survey
There is a risk of unintended health consequences from exposure to electronic nicotine delivery systems, due to the high nicotine concentration in the e-liquids of some of them, the report quoted a World Health Organization official in China as saying.
Believing many e-cigarettes are also harmful to smokers and others, the Beijing Tobacco Control Association will promote the inclusion of such devices in tobacco control law enforcement, the report quoted Zhang Jianshu, president of the Association, as saying.
