'It's an epidemic': Vaping is now South Africa’s next tobacco crisis, warns expert
On World No Tobacco Day, experts are warning that kids as young as 13 are getting hooked on nicotine disguised in sweet flavours and colourful packaging.
Picture: Pixabay/lindsayfox
702's Gugs Mhlungu spoke to resident GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO, Dr Fundile Nyati.
Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.
"...we now have an epidemic in South Africa, that is an epidemic of vaping and an epidemic of dependence on these vaping products that contain high levels of nicotine."
- Dr Fundile Nyati, GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO
World No Tobacco Day is observed annually on 31 May.
This year's theme is: "Bright products. Dark intentions. Unmasking the Appeal".
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the tobacco and nicotine industries use carefully engineered products and deceptive tactics every day to entice a new generation of users while maintaining their current users.
Nyati says there is a deliberate strategy by the tobacco industry to make sure that they sell these products to children as young as 13.
"The tobacco industry has changed tact...we have seen over the last decade a situation where the industry is specifically targeting young people with alternatives to cigarette smoking and those alternatives are coming through vaping, which is basically delivery of nicotine using electronic devices, but also other devices like the hookah pipes..."
- Dr Fundile Nyati, GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO
"The reason simply is that firstly, the industry sells it as if these are harmless. They then also make them attractive in terms of the flavours that are there...they also have people selling these nearby schools..."
- Dr Fundile Nyati, GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO
ALSO READ: Teen vaping crisis: '1 vape equals 20 cigarettes' - experts warn of severe health risks
While some may argue that not all vapes contain nicotine, Nyati references a recent study by the University of Cape Town involving 26,000 participants across eight provinces, which found that 88% of vapes do indeed contain nicotine.
He adds that evidence from the study shows that within no time, these young people graduate to smoking cigarettes, dagga and even hookah.
"Nicotine is very, very, very addictive, especially to young brains, the area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. Just one to two days of using these can lead to addiction in some young brains because the brain only develops to the right level in terms of the prefrontal cortex around the age of 25."
- Dr Fundile Nyati, GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO
Despite the risks, Nyati believes regulation is lagging, hence the tobacco industry is exploiting loopholes in outdated laws.
"There is currently, before parliament, a Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, which was presented in 2022, but it has not yet been promulgated. So there is a gap in the laws that were put in place, you know, years ago, and the industry is exploiting those laws..."
- Dr Fundile Nyati, GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO
Globally, countries like the UK and Australia are clamping down hard, banning single-use vapes, taxing products, and jailing offenders.
Scroll up to listen to the full conversation