Rabat – Moroccan physician and researcher in health policies and systems Tayeb Hamdi has recently revealed in a report that one in eight, or 12% of Moroccan youth have used an e-cigarette.
According to the Moroccan doctor’s report, which was quoted in SNRTNews, males are four times more likely than females to experiment with vape pens. Males make up 21.1%, while females make up 5.2%.
According to him, the number of youth that start experimenting with e-cigarettes at the age of ten represent 7.7%. However, 60% of youth start after the age of fourteen.
Hamdi stated the introduction of vapes is reversing the fall in tobacco use among students, who had reduced their smoking prevalence by over one-third in just ten years.
Because of the alluring fruity scents, youthful colors, availability, and tobacco industry-sponsored advertising campaigns, these products are drawing in teens, young people, and women to become increasingly ensnared in a fatal addiction cycle, the doctor explained.
The harmful effects of e-cigarettes
Among the risks associated with e-cigarettes, Hamdi stated, include the risk of cancer, respiratory conditions, cardiovascular disorders, depression, anxiety, inflammation, and major consequences for the fetuses of pregnant mothers.
The Moroccan doctor added that e-cigarettes have an impact on children’s developing brains, which physicians say are still growing until they are twenty-five.
The popular rumor that e-cigarettes help to quit smoking is untrue. The World Health Organization (WHO) believes that e-cigarettes should not be marketed as a means of aiding in quitting smoking since there are currently no studies that demonstrate their value towards this goal or that they pose less of a risk to health.
“E-cigarettes are often promoted as a less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes; however, to date, the commercialization (sale, importation, distribution, or manufacture) of e-cigarettes as consumer products has not been proven to have had a net benefit for public health,” WHO stated in a publication released in December 2023.
The strategy behind advertising e-cigarettes
In order to market these e-cigarettes on a large scale despite the health risks, Hamdi notes in the study that the tobacco industry has introduced new advertising strategies using social media and streaming platforms, which are highly popular among youth.
The goal is to draw in enough kids, teens, and young people to offset the loss of its clientele, with millions of tobacco-related fatalities recorded annually and tens of millions of smokers quitting. Therefore, early addiction to e-cigarettes ensures long-term loyalty.
For the tobacco industry, the e-cigarette is its new selling power, facilitating passage to other traditional substances, Hamdi concluded.
Read also: Moroccan Health Minister Vows Action to Tackle Teen E-Cigarette Epidemic
