By:
• Sao Phal Niseiy

• 25, August 2024 , 8:00 PM

A few weeks ago, two men gave an interview to a journalist while holding photos of their respective sons, aged 8 and 9, as they appealed to the public to help them find them. The video clip of this interview was posted on social media, which led to the fathers being reunited with their children.

Surprisingly, the disappearance of the two boys was not because they were lost but because they did not dare return home since their parents had found out they had been overtly smoking e-cigarettes, commonly known as vaping.

The case of these two children is just one of many; the use of e-cigarettes among young people has become prevalent, emerging as a new issue facing Cambodian society and requiring decisive measures. While consumers like these young kids and older ones put their health at risk when vaping or smoking, their parents or guardians will be affected psychologically when they become disobedient and sometimes skip school to use e-cigarettes.

This raises many questions that people hearing of this incident might ask. How come children in cities or the countryside can actually get e-cigarettes? Why does this happen even though Cambodia has regulations regarding the ban of e-cigarettes, and in the recent past, the relevant ministries and institutions have issued measures to crack down on e-cigarettes and ban their use?

These are just a few of the questions this incident of the two desperate fathers raised, not to mention the direct impact that these e-cigarettes are currently having on Cambodian consumers, directly and indirectly. As most people know, their effects on a person’s health are no different from those of regular cigarettes; e-cigarettes contain substances such as nicotine, which have long-term health repercussions, especially on the respiratory system and brain. Therefore, it is unfortunate that children who have young brains and a long future ahead of them get to use such products.

The increase in cigarette consumption among young Cambodians, especially minors, is due to several reasons. First, this product is designed to be very attractive to them. It comes in various fruit flavors and colors, which encourages young consumers to try them. Another reason has to do with socializing in today's society as young people look for ways to best fit in. This has become another source of encouragement for some young people to engage in unhealthy things, such as smoking or drinking.

The third reason is the laxity of existing law enforcement and the need for more systematic cooperation between stakeholders in order to carry on effective and sustainable measures. Meanwhile, legal loopholes in the 2015 law on tobacco control continue to pave the way for cigarette distributors or sellers to do business as usual, especially on social media.

As can be seen, many school children can easily gain access to cigarettes, which may indicate that cigarettes are sold not far from the schools.

This raises the issue of people at booths or stores selling such products to kids or teenagers, putting profit first even though they know that minors will be affected by these products. As one often hears people say in Khmer: “I don't care who dies, as long as I make profits.”

This said, the blame should not only be put on the e-cigarette sellers. The widespread distribution and sales of e-cigarettes and cigarettes also reveal the shortcomings of the enforcement of laws and regulations regarding this. For the authorities and policymakers, it's time to start addressing the gaps that hinder effective law enforcement to ensure the wellbeing of the young generations.

One of the shortcomings of the existing law that needs to be considered is the absence of actual penalties for cigarette sellers and users. So far, wrongdoers have been lectured on what they should and should not do and released after promising not to do it again, which led many to act as if nothing had happened.

Still, enforcing laws alone won't solve the problem.  As the case of these 8-and-9 year-old boys showed, campaigns on the harmful effects of cigarettes are truly needed even in primary schools. So far, programs have been carried out by relevant stakeholders. For instance, the Ministry of Health has called on the public to avoid e-cigarettes, and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has issued information on how to teach students the effects of smoking or vaping. However, there still is much work to be done, and the success of this campaign depends on close cooperation and commitment of all relevant stakeholders to ensure short and long-term results.

All in all, while the use of cigarettes among Cambodian youth may seem insignificant compared to other social issues in the country, the absence of a comprehensive solution will undoubtedly lead to serious consequences for the younger generations in years to come. Let’s just envision what Cambodian society could become if today’s children and young people, who represent the future of the country, turn into a burden due to smoking that led to health issues ranging from mild to severe. Action must be taken now to ensure their health and well-being as the dream of our country becoming a high-income nation by 2050 is in their hands.