The National Health Service calls for the early recycling of electronic cigarettes. After the passing of the future law amendments, "simply possessing will be punished"

The National Health Administration appeals that the "Smoking Harm Prevention Law" is still in the legal revision stage, but after the new law is passed and takes effect in the future, just possessing e-cigarettes may face a fine of 30,000 to 100,000 yuan. (Photo by reporter Lin Zhiyi)

There are countless marketing tactics for e-cigarettes, and some e-cigarettes are even adulterated with drugs for sale. The Ministry of Health and Welfare continues to promote the amendment of the "Tobacco Harm Prevention Act", and those who possess e-cigarettes may face fines in the future. The National Health Department calls on the public to send e-cigarettes to the 432 e-cigarette recycling bins across Taiwan as soon as possible. Kaohsiung City has initially recycled 22 kilograms. The government has also adopted "only in, no out" design and management to prevent recycled e-cigarettes from flowing into the illegal market.

Shen Jingfen of the National Health Service said that in recent years, e-cigarettes have reduced the wariness of young people through harmless packaging and various flavors, and they try them out of curiosity. However, no matter how harmless they appear, cigarettes are cigarettes. As the saying goes, it takes 21 days to form a habit, and the addiction of nicotine has always been there. Once you are infected, it will not only take 21 days to quit, but also will cause serious damage to various organs of the body, brain and intelligence.

Shen Jingfen said that the "Smoking Harm Prevention Law" is still in the revision stage, but after the new law is passed in the future, just possessing e-cigarettes may face a fine of 30,000 to 100,000 yuan. She called on the public to discard e-cigarettes as soon as possible. Since September 8, a total of 432 e-cigarette recycling bins have been set up in various county and city health bureaus and health clinics across the country, and local counties and cities have also successively reported recycling situations.

In addition, Shen Jingfen pointed out that a preliminary inventory of Kaohsiung City has recycled 22 kilograms of e-cigarettes, but this is not the final confirmed number. Other counties and cities are also reporting the situation one after another. The National Health Administration expects to collect statistics on the recycling status of each county and city one month after the expiration. It will also confirm during the inventory whether the recycled e-cigarettes are brand new, used, or have been used up.

Shen Jingfen also emphasized that in order to ensure that recycled e-cigarettes will not flow into the illegal market through other channels, the Health Bureau specially selected locations with surveillance systems or where people move around, and designed the recycling bins to be "only in but not out", which will be managed by the government administrative department and will be destroyed later.

Regarding the recycling situation of e-cigarettes on campus, Shen Jingfen said that the National Health Administration has communicated with the Ministry of Education on relevant matters. However, based on campus safety considerations, the Ministry of Education still encourages students to send e-cigarettes to 432 e-cigarette recycling bins for disposal. The National Health Administration also works closely with the Ministry of Education to understand the difficulties faced by students.

In order to raise young students' awareness of the dangers of e-cigarettes, the National Health Service held the "Youth Free Show" publicity event, and launched anti-smoking creative products with the Ministry of Education, Zhuangjing Vocational College, Beishang University, Shih-hsin University, Taipei University, Taichung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, and other schools to encourage young people to choose healthy leisure and exercise to relieve stress without breaking the law or falling into the trap of e-cigarette marketing.