According to a report by ENG.ISM on July 1st, Latvia is facing an epidemic of tobacco and nicotine consumption. The number of smokers is once again on the rise, with e-cigarette usage doubling in certain age groups in just a few years. The age at which children first try e-cigarettes is also changing.
E-cigarettes are particularly popular among young people aged 15-24.
Iveta Pudule, senior public health analyst at the Disease Prevention and Control Center (SPKC), stated:
Since 2016, this percentage has increased from 22% to 44%, nearly doubling in size.
Many parents of children who smoke believe that the nicotine in e-cigarettes is less harmful than in regular cigarettes. They think that vaping is harmless, but in fact, it is not.
Renāte Snipe, Chief Pulmonologist at Children's Clinical University Hospital (BKUS), believes that e-cigarettes have a significant impact on children's lung function and brain development.
Disposable e-cigarettes are incredibly difficult to tackle because they are cheap. The affordable price makes them most attractive and accessible to young people. Additionally, of course, they also cause significant pollution.
Even though the new restrictions in Latvia are making it more difficult for the tobacco industry to operate, experts at Riga Stradins University (RSU) recently conducted a study and concluded that there is still room for improvement in the industry.
Director of the RSU Institute of Public Health, Anda Ķīvīte-Urtāne, stated that
Experts from the World Health Organization have calculated that taxes should be increased by at least 10% and applied to all nicotine products. We have not kept up with this increase in prices. In fact, considering inflation, the new rate of increase is too slow to have an impact on consumption habits.
Public health experts have concluded that overall, nicotine control policies are quite comprehensive, but the most important issue is the lack of practical assistance for those who want to quit smoking. Additionally, there is insufficient education for school children on this matter.
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