New laws will be introduced soon to ban smoking e-cigarettes (vaping) among youth as most schoolchildren and undergraduates have been found to be addicted to e-cigarettes on a large scale.
Kurunegala DMO Dr. S.M.A. Priyadarshana told the Sunday Observer yesterday that a team of specialist doctors of the Health Ministry recently discussed the harmful effects of vaping with Minister of Health Dr. Ramesh Pathirana and added that its adverse effects should be explained to all citizens under a program in collaboration with 700 medical experts countrywide to save the future generation.
Awareness programs will be conducted at school level to educate school heads, teachers, parents and students on the harmful effects of vaping and how to prevent it among youth. The program will be held with the assistance of the Education Ministry when schools reopen on May 20, he said.
Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Specialist Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama told the media that the World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned that the majority of school students are now addicted to vaping as e-cigarettes are manufactured with different smells of fruits to attract youth.
