Seven organizations call for quick measures to ban vape

Maldives Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Alliance has called for quick measures to ban vape and e-cigarettes in the Maldives.

Maldives NCD Alliance comprising of various non-governmental organizations was formed with the objective of working collaboratively to combat non-communicable diseases in the Maldives. The Alliance comprises of seven organizations. They are:

1. Cancer Society of Maldives
2. Diabetes Society of Maldives
3. Tiny Hearts of Maldives
4. Society for Health Education
5. Maldivian Thalassemia Society
6. Mental Health Awareness Foundation
7. Maldives Association of Persons with Disabilities

The Alliance called on relevant authorities to take quick measures to ban vape and e-cigarettes in the Maldives in a statement that underscored that vape and e-cigarettes were declared as products containing tobacco by the World Health Organization (WHO).

While expressing concern over the significant increase in the number of people vaping in the Maldives in recent years – the Alliance stressed that the usage of vape and e-cigarettes continues to have many adverse effects on the health of its users and subject them to increased risk of non-communicable diseases.

In this regard, the Alliance detailed that nicotine and chemicals included in these products increase the risks of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke which they emphasized have been proven by an abundance of research. The alliance noted that vape and e-cigarettes contain harmful substances included in cigarettes such as formaldehyde, arsenic, acrolein, benzene and nicotine that can lead to cancer among other non-communicable diseases.

The Alliance, in their statement, underscored some of the research that has been conducted. They include:

• Vaping accounts for 15 percent of the sources of lung cancer
• Increased risk of diabetes with the use of these products in addition to cancer
• Nicotine leads to increased insulin resistance which subjects to the risk of type two diabetes
• Over 30 percent of vapers subject to increased risk of diabetes
• Over 40 percent of vapers subject to increased risk of heart diseases
• Diabetes patients that spoke smoke will be subject to complications arising from the disease such as atherosclerosis, stroke, blindness, and kidney failure much earlier

The Alliance further stressed the use of different flavors of vape results in the loss of the bitter taste of tobacco which in turn, increases the likelihood of young people becoming addicted to it. Subsequently, the age at which children are exposed to nicotine becomes much lower and many young people smoke before the age of 18, they added.

Underscoring that 34 nations have banned the usage of the vape, the Alliance called on relevant authorities to follow suit in the Maldives.