Examples of vaporisers that feature designs of popular cartoon characters. (Photo: Coutesy of Srirach Lapyai)Bangkok (VNA) – Thai Academics are warning about anew type of e-cigarette called "toy pods" which look like replicas ofpopular cartoon characters to target school and university students.
Srirach Lapyai, a project manager at Tobacco Control Researchand Knowledge Management Centre (TRC), said e-cigarette businesses haveadjusted the appearance of their products to look more like figurines of famouscartoon characters or cute miniatures of toys, food, stationery items, and soforth.
They are the fifth generation of e-cigarettes called"toy pods", Srirach said, adding each one contains up to 5%synthetic nicotine and yields up to 15,000 puffs.
The e-cigarettes in the form of toy pods have been so widelypopular that they have spread to primary school students. Many first graderswere recently found carrying them, she said.
Srirach explained that the mouthpiece of the toy pods isdesigned to mimic a cute figurine, making them almost unrecognisable ase-cigarettes.
Dr Vijj Kasemsup, director of the TRC, said businesses thatproduce new-generation e-cigarettes target younger customers by opening shopsand launching promotions on social media that suit their preferences andlifestyles.
According to a recent report, 309 online vendors were foundto be illegally selling e-cigarettes through social media channels, includingX, Facebook, and Instagram, between January and February.
Nicotine from e-cigarettes can affect children's hearts,brain cells, memories, concentration, and respiratory system and can causeseizures and heart failure, Vijj said, urging the Thai government to continuebanning e-cigarette sales and imports as well as proactively enforceregulations against such products.
Thai authorities have recently found 70 e-cigarette shopslocated within 500-metre radiuses of schools and universities in Bangkok. Legalaction against e-cigarette shops has been proposed to develop a safetymechanism./.
