Into the hazy world of e-cigarette smokers in Vietnam

More Vietnamese youngsters, including teenagers, have become hooked on the addictive, insidious indulgence of smoking e-cigarettes in recent years.

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigs, are a battery-powered vaporizer which simulates the feeling of smoking, but without tobacco combustion.
The palm-size device has recently outstripped the “shisha,” or multi-flavored Arab pipe tobacco, which has become a can’t-miss at tea and coffee shops frequented by young people over the past few years.

The e-cigs use dozens of toxin-containing essential oils.

A Tu oi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter recently infiltrated some circles in Ho Chi Minh City which supply the device in bulk.

Disguised as a buyer, he ventured into a shop run by Phu, a trader, who resides on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, District 3.

The shop, which was brimming with e-cigarette smoking kits and some 100 bottles of essential oil, was packed with customers.

Phu said the practice had become all the rage in recent times.

Apart from his main customers in the city, his clientele also travels from other provinces and cities.

His kits come in a variety of shapes and sizes and fetch different prices.

The most sought-after tools, from the U.S. and Canada, vary from VND1.1 million (US$49) to VND3.2 million ($141) each set.

Chinese fakes, which are widely available, fetch a mere VND200,000 ($9) to 300,000 ($13) each set.

However, the fakes are of inferior quality compared to their American and Canadian counterparts, Phu revealed.

At a shop located on Phan Dinh Phung Street, Phu Nhuan District, theTuoi Tre reporter was shown nearly 10 high-capacity smoking kits, which go for VND5 million ($221) apiece.

He could not provide invoices for the kits, which are “airborne goods,” or personal belongings taken during flights.

Just like shisha, essential oils used with e-cigarettes do not have clear origins.

Phu added his shop currently offers more than 10 different aromas, with one 10-millimiter bottle retailing at VND130,000.

He also offers discounts on large orders.

Meanwhile, at a shop run by Nguyen, also on Phan Dinh Phung Street, 40 aromas are available for customers to choose from, ranging from peppermint, pastries, and fruits to tobacco.

He also boasts homemade oils for VND200,000 each bottle.

Nguyen’s attendants said the shop is planning to add another 40 new scents to its range, and he himself admitted that his items are illegally imported as “airborne goods.”

Lost in a ‘haze maze’

In late October 2015, the Tuoi Tre reporter followed a student named L. to a café on Phan Dinh Phung Street.

They found themselves feeling their way through the room as it was thick with stale smoke.

Around 20 youths, both male and female, were sitting, wreathed in cigarette smoke.

Five shop attendants took turns to puff as a demonstration to their clients.

L. took a long breath from a smoking kit before swaying to the music.

Then he left the café for a drink with his friends and returned to the shop with them later.

The young man sped, constantly jumped red lights and almost caused an accident on his way from the café back to the e-cigarette shop.

He revealed that he consumes one bottle of oil extract each day, and uses up two to three bottles whenever he has company.

Hao, another smoker, said that it takes only a few e-cigarette breaths to feel ‘high’ compared to shisha.

He added smokers feel more euphoric relishing it together at a shop than doing so at home, and are able to share the aromas in one sitting.

The Tuoi Tre reporter later escorted Chay, a convert from shisha to e-cigarettes, to V.C. Lounge in Phu Nhuan District.

The shop was also packed and stuffy.

A female attendant demonstrated her smoking skills to young clients.

A patron at the shop, V.L., who is only 15 or 16 years old, grabbed a smoking kit and ordered a bottle of oil before blowing O-shaped smoke rings of different sizes.

Two shop assistants, B.T. and L., said that using a smoking kit is a breeze, adding high-capacity tools give thicker smoke and a more tempting taste.

Damaging effects

Even dealers have admitted to the health hazards posed by e-cigarettes.

L. bluntly acknowledged that essential oils are rich in nicotine, which is a toxic and additive substance commonly found in conventional cigarettes.

From a professional perspective, Dr. Nguyen Huu Duc, of the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University, said that e-cigarettes comprise two components, namely a nicotine-containing filter and a mixture of aromatic substances.

The user automatically activates the e-cigarette by taking a puff; while other devices are turned on with a manual press of a button.
The nicotine found in e-cigarettes is generally contaminated with insidious substances, aggravating adverse health effects.

Drug dealers can also put illegal drugs like marijuana, ecstasy or even cocaine in essential oils to enrich the flavors, better please smokers’ taste buds and boost the concoction’s addictiveness.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, e-cigarettes were invented by a Chinese herbal practitioner in 2003 as a smoking cessation aid.

However the benefits of e-cigarettes have not been fully studied.

According to lawyer Nguyen Duc Chanh, of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, only Vinataba, a state-run cigarette maker, is authorized to import e-cigarettes.

Illegal sale of the kits can be administratively or criminally penalized under Article 159 of the Penal Code.