◎ Chen Qi
The National Health Service of the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced that starting from September 8, 431 anonymous e-cigarette delivery locations will be set up across the country for people to voluntarily hand over their e-cigarette devices without leaving their names or personal information. This measure is in line with the direction of amending the Tobacco Harm Prevention Act. If "possession of e-cigarettes" is added as a target of punishment in the future, people who still possess e-cigarettes after the grace period may face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$100,000 and confiscation. This policy shows the government’s determination to prevent the circulation of e-cigarettes, and also reflects that the issue of e-cigarettes has expanded from a personal consumption choice to a comprehensive issue of public health, youth protection and legal governance.
431 anonymous e-cigarette delivery locations will be set up across the country, and people can voluntarily hand over their e-cigarette devices without leaving their names or personal information. Schematic diagram. (File photo)
The manufacture, import, sale, supply, display, advertising and use of e-cigarettes are prohibited in Taiwan. However, in recent years, they are still circulated through the Internet, social platforms and underground pipelines, and so-called "zombie cartridges" containing controlled or harmful ingredients such as etomidate have even appeared, causing great concern in the society. The National Health Administration pointed out that e-cigarettes may release harmful substances such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, ultrafine suspended particles and heavy metals, which may have adverse effects on adolescents’ brain development, learning ability, anxiety risk, lung health and cancer risk.
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However, if the governance of e-cigarettes only remains at "ban" and "heavy fines", it may still be difficult to truly solve the problem. The reason is that the spread of e-cigarettes among young people is not only due to insufficient legal penalties, but also related to peer culture, social media marketing, packaging and flavor design, identity and stress relief needs. If the government only increases the intensity of penalties without simultaneously strengthening education, counseling and investigation networks, young people may simply turn to more secretive channels to obtain drugs, which will increase health risks and difficulty in law enforcement.
The anonymous payment system deserves recognition. It provides users with an "exit mechanism" to prevent people from continuing to hide e-cigarettes for fear of being punished. In particular, e-cigarettes contain lithium batteries and chemical liquids, which may cause environmental pollution or fire risks if discarded arbitrarily. Centralized processing through fixed receiving points not only helps reduce circulation, but also has environmental safety implications. However, the key to the success of this measure lies in whether the government can make it clear to the public that handing over e-cigarettes is safer than hiding them.
In recent years, so-called "zombie cartridges" containing controlled or hazardous ingredients such as etomidate have continued to appear, causing great concern in society. The picture shows the zombie cigarette cartridges, etomidate raw materials, drug-making tools and other evidence seized by the police. (File photo)
Therefore, policy communication must be more nuanced. The government should clearly explain the procedures, locations, deadlines and legal effects of anonymous surrender to avoid the public’s misunderstanding that voluntary surrender will still be traced. In addition, schools, parents and local health units should also get consistent messages to avoid front-line personnel having different understandings of policies, leaving students or parents at a loss. If public health policies lack trust, no matter how high the penalties are, they may not be able to win cooperation.
More importantly, e-cigarette governance must go deep into campuses. For teenagers, e-cigarettes are often packaged as trendy, harmless or stress relief tools, and health risks are even downplayed through short videos on social media. Schools should not just punish students with school rules, but should combine health education and counseling resources with parents to help students understand the mechanisms of addiction and its physical harm. If students have already engaged in behavioral abuse, simple demerits or punishments may not be able to change the behavior. Instead, treatment counseling, psychological support and peer education should be introduced.
In the future, the government should strengthen and establish an inter-departmental investigation mechanism to strengthen supervision of online sales, social advertising and overseas shipping to reduce the flow of e-cigarettes into schools from the source; promote youth-friendly treatment and counseling services so that students can receive assistance without being stigmatized; strengthen the identification skills of parents and teachers, and provide concise teaching materials so that families and schools can detect and intervene early. On the surface, the issue of e-cigarettes is about smoking harm prevention, but in essence it is a test of youth health management and risk management in the digital era. Heavy fines can demonstrate the government's attitude, but they cannot replace education, counseling and source management. Only by forming a complete network of legal punishment, public health, school education and family support can Taiwan truly defend the health of its adolescents, instead of only resorting to fines to remedy the problem when it expands.
(The author is a Taipei citizen and freelancer)
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