According to a report by UDN on December 9th, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration has statistics showing that as of the end of November 2024, a total of 3,511 tobacco-related violations have been fined by relevant authorities, totaling over 2.4 billion Taiwanese dollars. Among them, there are a total of 865 cases involving e-cigarettes.
According to the released results of the "2019 Youth Smoking Behavior Survey", it was found that although the cigarette smoking rate among adolescents has decreased, the e-cigarette usage rate still remains at 4.8%. The e-cigarette usage rates were reported to be 3.2% among junior high school students and 6.3% among high school and vocational school students. It is estimated that over 50,000 adolescents are currently using e-cigarettes.
Furthermore, the survey shows that 4 out of 10 teenage smokers use flavored tobacco (39.0% among junior high school students, 44.5% among high school students). The usage rate is higher among girls than boys, with 43.8% of junior high school girls and a whopping 61.2% of high school girls using flavored tobacco.
Lin Qingli, Director of the Tobacco Control Group of the Dong Family Foundation, stated that an international report has found that 90% of those who use e-cigarettes before the age of 25 are flavored tobacco users.
She pointed out that tobacco companies are trying to attract new younger customers by suggesting a "200 billion increase in tobacco tax per year," and she criticized this as a setback for tobacco control efforts. She called on the Ministry of Health and Welfare to hold a press conference to explain in detail the relevant health issues, rather than simply releasing data.
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