Increase in e-cigarette poisoning cases
GEORGE TOWN: A total of 111 cases related to e-cigarette and e-liquid poisoning have been referred to the National Poison Centre (NPC) at Universiti Sains Malaysia from 2015 until last year.
NPC chief pharmacist officer of medicine information and poisons Sulastri Samsudin said it recorded the highest number of e-cigarette exposure cases with 30.6%, which is a five-fold increase last year compared with 6.3% in 2019.
“The first phase showed a two-fold increase in 2020 at 13.5% and 19.8% in 2021 compared with 6.3% in 2019 during the movement control order due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The majority of cases involved children aged under five.
“The situation can be attributed to the accessibility of these products due to their unsafe storage and packaging, as well as the presence of attractive flavourings such as food and candies,” she said in a statement.
Sulastri also said the second phase, in 2022 and 2023, showed a trend shift from age categories, with more teenagers aged between 15 and 19 experiencing intentional e-cigarette poisoning.
She added that over 95% of reported cases exhibited symptoms of nicotine poisoning such as severe vomiting, drowsiness, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fainting and seizures.
The more severe symptoms include psychosis, hallucinations and aggressive behaviour changes.
Sulastri said since 2021, NPC has received cases of e-cigarette exposure associated with magic mushroom drugs or its active ingredient psilocybin, and has recorded 23 cases to date.
She said NPC has urged the government to expedite the implementation of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2023, which was passed last year, by ensuring control of e-cigarette products focusing on several aspects.
This includes the use of safety caps for refillable e-cigarette containers, prohibiting the use of food flavourings in e-cigarette liquid, limiting nicotine concentration and the volume of liquid in e-cigarette liquids and refillable containers.
“There is also a need to ensure that chemical products are tested and registered for monitoring purposes, establishing strict standard operating procedures for product manufacturing processes, strengthening monitoring systems for e-cigarette poisoning cases, and controlling access to e-cigarettes for underage individuals,” she said.