He Ministry of Health of the Nation, in charge of Carla Vizzotti, prohibited the import, distribution, commercialization, advertising and any type of promotion and sponsorship of “electronic systems or devices destined to inhale tobacco vapors or aerosols”. The measure was released on Monday.
According to Resolution 565/2023 of the health portfolio, the prohibition extends “to the operation of said systems or devices, as well as cartridges and tobacco bars to be heated in said systems.” It will come into effect from this Tuesday.
Within the text signed by the Minister, it is indicated that the measure is taken in a “context of retraction of the consumption of tobacco products in many countries of the world.” In the middle, it is explained that “companies have introduced new alternative products for smoking or inhaling aerosols with or without nicotine.”
The Resolution affirms that the heated tobacco products They produce “aerosols with nicotine and other chemicals such as acetaldehyde, acrolein and formaldehyde, which are harmful and potentially harmful to health.”
In Argentina, the consumption of electronic cigarettes or vapers presents relatively low values, reaching 1.1% of the adult population according to the 2018 National Survey of Risk Factors, “although an alarming percentage of use was observed among adolescents, which according to the World Youth Tobacco Survey of the year 2018, it reached 7% of the population from 13 to 15 years old”, it adds.
In conclusion, the Ministry considers that they can be “a potential risk to the health of the population and the development of addictive behaviors in young people”
In addition, it is worth mentioning that the electronic cigarette was prohibited by the National Administration of Medicines and Medical Technology (Anmat) by Provision 3226/2011.
Although these products are promoted as “reduced risk”, so far no independent study has shown that they are harmless to health. In fact, some research has shown that they contain many of the toxic substances found in common cigarettes, in some cases in higher concentrations.