Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/01/2020
By: Hao Hsueh-chin and Chung Yu-chen

Taichung, Dec. 1 (CNA) A Taichung-based pediatrician urged the government to look into the continued availability of vaping products and their use by teenagers Tuesday, citing a case in which a 15-year-old boy was diagnosed with vaping-associated pneumonia in September.

Although vaping is severely restricted in Taiwan it is not technically banned and vaping products are easily accessible online or at markets across Taiwan, Lue Ko-huang (呂克桓), chief of Chung Shan Medical University Hospital's Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology said at a press conference.

According to the latest survey conducted by the Health Promotion Administration in 2019, the number of teenagers who smoke regular cigarettes or use heated tobacco products continues to increase.

It is estimated that more than 81,000 teenagers smoke cigarettes, 57,000 smoke electronic cigarettes and 16,000 use heated tobacco products, the agency said.    [FULL  STORY]