MANILA, Philippines- Hinikayat ng Department of Education (DepEd) ang mga kabataang Pilipino na huwag ituring ang electronic cigarettes o vapor products bilang “necessity o isang accessory.”
Maliban kasi sa pagkakaroon ng iba’t ibang flavors, isinusulong ang e-cigarettes at vapes bilang malusog at ligtas na alternatibo sa traditional tobacco products o paninigarilyo.
Ang nasabing produkto ang naging taktika ng industriya upang makakuha ng bagong audience para palitan ang nawala sa kanila lalo pa’t bumaba na ang bilang ng tobacco smokers sa nakalipas na 10 taon.
“The approach of the industry is to convert our young people into replacing smokers. So you can now find learners and students who are saying that they are nonsmokers, but they are vapers, but at the same time, both are incredibly dangerous to their well-being. It does not remove the fact that they become very substance dependent,” ayon kay DepEd Assistant Secretary Dr. Dexter Galban.
Binigyang-diin nito na ang ‘vape trend’ ay nagtataglay ng pangunahing banta sa kapakanan ng younger generation, subalit mas maraming users ang hindi aware sa mga panganib na nasa likod nito.
Taong 2019, sinabi ng Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) na isa sa pitong estudyante na edad 13-15 taong gulang ay gumagamit na ng e-cigarettes—age group na mas bata sa pinapayagan batay sa umiiral na batas.
“(Vaping) this affects them not only in terms of their health but also financially plus, of course, it takes advantage of their innocence and their vulnerability to the industry that seeks to turn them into smokers,” ayon kay Galban.
“Young people really turn to their influencers, and I mean that in both the literal sense and the new-age sense. Those who influence their daily lives and the influencers that they see on social media, whether it be on TikTok, Facebook, or any other platform, and more so that when vaping first came into the picture, it was considered even a talent on a national television show,” patuloy ng opisyal.
Iginit nito na ang pagkakaroon ng exposures, lalo na sa social media, ay madaling makapaghikayat sa mga kabataan na subukan ang vaping.
“They now see it in movies, they see their favorite celebrities and influencers using it as part of a plot device or probably as part of a side quest, and that is quite concerning because that has cascaded into it being part of the regular life of the younger generation,” ayon kay Galban.
Nilinaw naman nito na ang vaping ay hindi ‘necessity’ o ‘accessory’ at hindi mas ligtas kaysa sa paninigarilyo.
“Vaping is an unnecessary step for you especially to the youth who wants to become or feel more mature to smoke through vape, these are not essentials, and not an accessory either,” giit pa niya.
Aktibo namang binibigyang-diin ng health professionals na ang paggamit ng electric cigarettes o vape products ay maaaring maglagay sa bansa sa panganib ng epidemiya ng e-cigarette o vape-associated lung injury (EVALI).
Maliban dito, may mahalagang papel ang mga magulang na mabigyan ng tamang impormasyon ang kanilang mga anak ukol sa panganib ng vaping.
“At the end of the day, this is about social-behavioral change, and that doesn’t happen overnight, so if they are bombarded with these products and they are made as a part of the norm, then it is going to be inherent to them that these things are okay while in fact, they are not,” ayon kay Galban. Kris Jose
