CEBU medical experts refute that vaping is much safer than smoking regular tobacco, as opposed to popular belief that vape pods (e-cigarettes) contain less harmful substances than their counterparts.
Experts from the Department of Health (DOH) 7, Cebu City Health Office and various medical groups gathered to fight against the use of both tobacco and vape smoke at Fort San Pedro in Cebu City last Friday, June 30, 2023.
The Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP-CV) 7 reiterated the danger of both practices to the lung health of the public.
The physicians cited as an example the first confirmed case of Evali (vape-associated lung injury) in Visayas in 2019, wherein a 16-year-old girl from Consolacion, Cebu reportedly smoked electronic and traditional cigarettes for over six months and experienced severe shortness of breath and required oxygen supplementation.
She was later admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital, as disclosed by the DOH.
DOH Non-Communicable Disease officer-in-charge Eugenia Mercedes Cañal said that this case was one of the reasons the campaign against smoking should intensify.
“The fact that the victim was a minor is very alarming, and it is all the more reason why vaping should be put to a halt here in Cebu City. With the programs we have already planned and soon to be executed, patients suffering from smoking-related diseases will be lessened,” she said.
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey of 2021 released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), tobacco use decreased from 29.7 percent in 2009 to 23.8 percent in 2015 to 19.5 percent in 2021.
Nonetheless, one in every five Filipinos aged 15 years old and older, or 15.1 million, are current smokers.
Males use tobacco at a rate eight times higher (34.7 percent) than females (4.2 percent), according to Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD).
Hospital cost
It’s necessary to address the negative effects of vaping and tobacco since the medication and treatment for smoking-related diseases and illnesses cost more than a million pesos annually, according to PCCP-CV president Dr. Ma. Bernadita Sarcauga-Chua.
She said that a patient diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pays at least P6,000 for the inhalers monthly, excluding treatments for other complications that might develop.
Medicines for those diagnosed with lung cancer cost around P5,000 for oral chemotherapy daily, or around P1.82 million per year.
She said these do not include payments for medical tests, facilities and the professional fees of attending doctors.
Misconception
Cañal said that many people believe that e-cigarettes are safer than regular tobacco smoking. However, e-cigarettes are just as harmful due to the foreign chemicals added to the liquid used inside the pods. “One of the misconceptions about smoking is that it only hits the lungs, when in fact, it also affects the entire body,” she said.
Sarcauga-Chua emphasized the importance of having the will to quit smoking and how seeking medical assistance can help. / Miguel Angelu Lumen and Kimberly Goc-ong, CNU Interns