IT is that time of the year when we celebrate World No Tobacco Day again. But every day, as mothers, we try hard to protect our children in so many ways. Today, we wish to focus on the threat of the new toy in town: the vape.

We have heard many stories in our own country and abroad of teenagers vaping and facing many detrimental consequences. These include lung disease, intubation, not being able to play their favourite sports and getting involved in drug abuse.

Are we not worried about our daughters and sons. They are our heart and soul. No matter how much you want them to have the freedom of choice, we are still their parents. We need to be there for them, to guide them.

Our children’s frontal lobe, which is the front part of the brain, absorbs information like a sponge absorbing water without a filter. Until they are 25 years old, their brain cells are not yet mature. What do we do with them? Do we poison them with smoke, with vape, with shisha? No! We should lead them towards a healthy lifestyle.

A healthy lifestyle does not mean you have to pay expensive gym fees or spend hundreds of ringgit on protein shake – well, you can if you can afford it – but a healthy lifestyle is about more than that. It is about a balanced diet; eating the right kind of food in the right portion. It is about exercising or doing physical activities, but also about spending quality time together as a family. And of course, living healthily means breathing air that is free of smoking or vaping chemicals.

The nicotine in a cigarette or in vape juice is harmful. Decades of high-quality research show that it is the culprit for addiction. What does this mean? It means, if your child take a puff of cigarette or vape, their brain will quickly get addicted to the product, and they will want to have the next puff and the next.

Addiction to smoking and vaping is not easy to treat, especially in children or teenagers. They are constantly exposed to multifactorial causes such as peer pressure, bad role modelling by parents or siblings who smoke or vape, and social media portraying celebrities, artists, and influencers as “cool” when vaping.

There are more than 6,000 chemicals in a cigarette with more than 60 cancer-causing agents. It is falsely claimed that vape juices have fewer chemicals and are therefore safer than cigarettes. They can contain more than 1,000 types of harmful chemicals. Please do not be fooled by the marketing strategy of the manufacturers.

What is more dangerous is that, as shown in a programme called Henti, Elak, Basmi Asap Tembakau that was introduced in 2022 to secondary schools in Klang Valley, students have been experimenting with vape juices containing magic mushrooms, a hallucinogenic drug that can cause breathing difficulty, inability to think, an increase in heart rate, and death.

Teenagers from a school in Petaling Jaya were experimenting with crushed road tar, diluting it into vape juice as it gives a better “kick” than alcohol. Teenagers in the West have also been documented putting drugs and stimulants into their vape juices.

Children exposed to parental smoke are at high risk of serious lung infections, asthma attacks, ear infections, attention deficit disorders, growth problems, skin problems, and many others. They are at high risk of mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety or even suicidal thoughts, especially if they become smokers or vapers themselves. Do not let their future be burned by smoking or vaping.

Please ask your children with whom they mix and whether their friends smoke or vape. They know that smoking and vaping are dangerous, but due to addiction, it is difficult for them to stop. They need help to stop.

Sometimes they are afraid to talk to their parents for fear of being scolded or even chased out of the house. Please talk to them and listen to them. Help them, find ways to help them to quit, if they have started.

Help is available at Health Ministry clinics, university hospitals  private clinics or certified counsellors. If you need more information about the dangers of smoking and vaping, please talk to health experts or read reliable online resources.

 Let’s protect our children. It is never too late to start protecting them from the dangers of smoking and vaping. – May 31, 2024.

* Assoc Prof Dr Nur Amani Ahmad Tajuddin reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.