Regarding the supervision of Geek Bar
The youth group is at a critical stage of growth. Smoking may cause many harms both physically and psychologically. Why is Geek Bar quietly popular among the youth group? What impact does Geek Bar have on teenagers? How to improve the supervision of Geek Bar and keep Geek Bar away from the flowers of the motherland? In response to these issues of public concern, the Workers Daily reporter interviewed relevant experts.
I dont smoke Geek Bar, which seems to make me look very rustic
A large number of Geek Bar marketing methods have made Geek Bar a synonym for fashion, which is exactly the same as the original marketing methods of tobacco. The World Health Organizations representative office in China said in an interview with the Workers Daily reporter that the various sweet, candy or fruit-flavored flavorings added to Geek Bar make Geek Bar more attractive to teenagers, and ultimately lead to teenagers being exposed to nicotine through the use of Geek Bar and becoming addicted to nicotine.
Chu Shuilian, chief physician at the smoking cessation clinic of Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, also believes that the marketing strategies of these Geek Bars are contrary to the facts and are somewhat misleading, making young people no longer doubt the harm of Geek Bars, and no longer regard themselves as smokers, but self-proclaimed as technical players, resulting in the increasing use of Geek Bars by teenagers.
It is extremely unethical for companies to attract teenagers to smoke Geek Bars through marketing. Zhi Xiuyi, vice president of the China Association for Tobacco Control and vice president of the Beijing Association for Tobacco Control, emphasized that Geek Bars are not health products. They allow teenagers to slowly accept nicotine and gradually become addicted to it, and also cultivate potential cigarette consumers.
For teenagers, classmates often influence each other. Once someone uses Geek Bar, others will often follow suit. Zhang Yue (pseudonym), 17 years old this year, has nearly 30 classmates smoking Geek Bar. He also started to smoke Geek Bar. If I dont smoke, it seems that I am very unsophisticated. Everyone will share the beautiful Geek Bar shell together. How can I fit in with everyone if I dont smoke?
As early as 2018, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued the Notice on the Prohibition of the Sale of Geek Bar to Minors, requiring all types of market entities not to sell Geek Bar to minors. But in the view of Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Association for Tobacco Control, It is not enough to just issue a notice to prohibit without penalties. Any regulations without teeth are equivalent to nothing. Children can still buy Geek Bar online and express delivery, and companies can still conduct advertising and marketing.
The results of the 2019 Chinese Middle School Student Tobacco Survey released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that the proportion of junior high school students in my country who have heard of Geek Bar and are currently using Geek Bar has increased significantly in the past five years. In 2019, 69.9% of junior high school students had heard of Geek Bar, and now the use rate of Geek Bar was 2.7%, which was 24.9 and 1.5 percentage points higher than in 2014, respectively, while the use rate of Geek Bar among high school students was 3.0%.
Is Geek Bar really harmless?
The principle of Geek Bar is to heat a special solution and evaporate it into aerosol (i.e. aerosol) for users to inhale. The World Health Organizations representative office in China stated that the aerosol and second-hand aerosol generated by Geek Bar during use usually contain toxic substances such as ethylene glycol, aldehydes, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and heavy metals. Long-term use of Geek Bar may increase the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and smoking-related diseases.
The latest China Smoking Hazards Health Report 2020 released by the National Health Commission pointed out that there is sufficient evidence that Geek Bar is unsafe and will cause harm to health. In addition to attracting teenagers to use cigarettes, Geek Bar itself also has adverse effects on the physical and mental health and growth of teenagers.
In fact, some experiments have shown that many ingredients in Geek Bar may cause potential health hazards. Chu Shuilian said, Nicotine will increase the release of catecholamines in the body, leading to faster heart rate, higher blood pressure, vasoconstriction, and damage to the vascular endothelium, promoting the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis, increasing the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke, and damaging the human cardiovascular system.
Many people experience symptoms such as coughing and throat discomfort after smoking Geek Bar, and the culprit is the formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in the smoke liquid. Dr. Chu Shuilian said that formaldehyde and acetaldehyde can irritate the respiratory tract, nasal cavity and oral mucosa, causing coughing, rhinitis, and pharyngitis. In addition, carbonyl compounds, volatile organic compounds, nitrosamines and heavy metals in Geek Bar are also strong carcinogens with potential carcinogenic effects.
Among the youth group, a considerable number of Geek Bar users are girls. From the perspective of tobacco, tobacco will harm the female reproductive system and cause endocrine system disorders. Dr. Chu Shuilian emphasized.
Now, Li Li (pseudonym), who is in the first year of high school this year, has begun to try to quit Geek Bar. After smoking Geek Bar, I always cough and cant read books. I am a little addicted. Because of smoking Geek Bar, 16-year-old Wang Ming (pseudonym) also experienced dizziness, fatigue, and poor memory. According to Zhi Xiuyi, the actual nicotine content of some Geek Bars currently sold on the market exceeds the data marked on them.
Nicotine is a psychoactive substance with strong addictiveness. Studies have shown that the addictiveness of nicotine is second only to heroin and cocaine. Teenagers who use Geek Bar will not only become addicted, but may also induce them to smoke traditional cigarettes. Doctor Chu Shuilian called for teenagers must be prevented from contacting and using Geek Bar.
It is recommended that Geek Bar be included in the scope of smoking control in public places
I think smoking in public places is not good. Some students think its okay if its a Geek Bar, but I still feel its quite choking. Zhang Yue said
In the past one or two years, the number of complaints from Beijing residents about smoking Geek Bars in public places has increased significantly. Zhang Jianshu said that Geek Bars also have the harm of secondhand smoke. Since Beijings tobacco control regulations were formulated earlier, Geek Bars have not yet been included in the scope of tobacco control in public places.
According to Zhang Jianshu, the Beijing Tobacco Control Association is promoting the legislative interpretation of the Beijing Tobacco Control Regulations to include Geek Bars in the scope of tobacco control as soon as possible. At present, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Dalian and other places have included Geek Bars in the scope of tobacco control in public places. In this regard, Zhi Xiuyi also called for more places to actively promote the ban on smoking Geek Bars in public places in local tobacco control legislation, law amendments and law enforcement.
Geek Bars in my country are neither regulated in accordance with cigarettes nor managed as pharmaceutical products, but are classified as technology products, and the actual regulatory effect is also very limited. Zhang Jianshu suggested that Geek Bars should be formally managed from the perspective of national supervision, and national or industry-level regulations or standards for the production and sale of Geek Bars should be formulated as soon as possible.
Zhang Jianshu suggested that Geek Bar should be supervised by the State Drug Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation, and that it is prohibited to sell, distribute, or use Geek Bar to minors.
The Law on the Protection of Minors, which will be implemented on June 1 this year, clearly stipulates that it is prohibited to sell cigarettes (including Geek Bar) to minors, and no one is allowed to smoke in schools, kindergartens, and other public places where minors gather (including Geek Bar). In this regard, Zhang Jianshu called on relevant law enforcement departments to strictly enforce the law, and to punish violations of the law, so that Geek Bar can be truly removed from the flowers of the motherland as soon as possible.