Last December, a large amount of electronic cigarettes (Vape) were seized in the joint efforts of the Revenue Investigation Department and the police. The said vape was imported into Nepal after evading the revenue. According to the department, about 120,000 vape were recovered in two weeks in the month of January.

Based on the information that vape was smuggled into Nepal by evading customs, the department seized 86,000 vape from a warehouse in Imadol in Mahalakshmi municipality of Lalitpur. Similarly, 95 cartons of vape containing 19,000 units were seized from Mustang. 15,000 and 4,000 pieces of vape were recovered from Pathalaiya and Butwal respectively. 

The market value of vape currently recovered by the revenue alone is more than 25 crore rupees . Apart from evading customs, a large amount of vape is being imported into Nepal. From July to November of the current financial year, VEP worth 1 million 64 thousand rupees has been received. A total of 119 kg of vape has entered Nepal.

In the financial year 2080/81, 281 kg of vape worth 24 lakh 30 thousand rupees has been imported into Nepal.

If we look at the global data, the consumption of vape is more among the youth. 18- to 24-year-olds are the largest age group for vaping . For example, according to a study conducted by the US National Center for Health Statistics in 2021, it has been found that people between the ages of 18 and 24 use vape a lot. Even in Nepal, there are many of the same age group who consume vape . For example, according to a vape seller in Baneshwar, people especially in the age group of 20 to 30 come to buy vape in his shop.

vape is available in different flavors. The recently seized vapes were also of different flavors. The market price of a vape seems to be between 1,500 and 25,000 rupees. A vape can hold up to 30,000 puffs of smoke. 

21-year-old Sumana (name changed) started using vape for a year. She initially used a vape with 2 mg of nicotine. Using a vape with more than 2 mg of nicotine causes him heartburn and discomfort. After a year, his vape usage has increased. Now she can vape with more than 2 mg of nicotine .

Currently, she uses 50 mg vape . She says, "I don't even feel like taking a vape with 2 mg of nicotine right now." The vape is always in my hands . I take occasional puffs throughout the day . Rather, it is felt that what is not there is not in hand.' 

23-year-old Suraj (name changed) shares a similar experience. He has been trying hard to quit smoking for some time now. Despite trying hard, he was forced to quit smoking. At that time, one of his friends told him that vape would help him quit smoking. Sooraj bought the vape the same day and started using it . He says, "I started using vape because it helps me quit smoking." For a few days, the cigarettes were less, but gradually I started using vape frequently. Now I smoke occasionally but I vape a lot.' 

What is e-cigarette (vape)? How harmful ?

An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or vape is a device that gives the experience of smoking a cigarette . It consists of a heater (atomizer), a battery and a tank-like container. It produces steam instead of smoke . That's why using e-cigarettes is called 'vaping'. 

The heater heats a liquid called 'E-Liquid' and makes a vapor . According to various studies, this vapor contains mostly nicotine and flavoring substances. Nicotine is a highly addictive, harmful substance found in cigarettes and other tobacco products. It contains propylene glycol and glycerin, which is used to make steam . Also, some vapes contain small amounts of carcinogenic chemicals, such as acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. Chemicals such as acrolein, diacetyl, and diethylene glycol are among the chemicals that cause lung disease and have serious effects. Vape also contains things like THC, which is found in marijuana, which causes intoxication. 

'Once you are addicted to something, you have to depend on it for whatever you do . As soon as you have a slight negative feeling, instead of dealing with it, you tend to use the addictive substance . Feeling sad, angry, or happy increases substance use. Also increases anxiety . It has the easiest vape to use . That's why its use has increased.'

- Aditya Dangol, Counselor

A study was conducted on 400 undergraduate students from April to December 2022 in Kathmandu. According to the report published in the National Library of Medicine, 21.2 percent of students have used vape at least once. Similarly, 5.9 percent were found to be actively using vape.

_{Vape recovered from a warehouse in Imadol, Lalitpur}

Those students' opinion about vape was also asked . In which 34.8 percent estimated that vape can get rid of cigarette addiction . Likewise, it was found that 64.7 percent believed that vape is less harmful than cigarettes.

Lung Dr. According to Raksha Pandey, vape causes transient allergic reactions, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and chemicals and flavors cause allergic reactions. In the long term, vape can lead to lung infections, known as 'evally'. Vape has also been shown to cause other lung diseases. It has also been seen that young people have died due to difficulty in breathing due to excessive use of vape. 

According to an article published by the BBC in 2022, vape was first commercially marketed to quit smoking. However, Pandey says that it is just an illusion to say that vape makes you quit smoking. 

'Nicotine reaches the brain within 6 seconds of use . It makes you feel happy . After increasing the usage, little by little will not be enough . That's why the quantity has to be increased," she says, "The same process happens in both cigarettes and vape . When vape first hit the market, it was intended to help quit smoking. There is no concrete proof of this.'

similarly argues psychiatrist Dr. Arun Kunwar. He says, "Comparatively, there are arguments that vape is better because it has less nicotine." But vape also contains nicotine and is harmful. Thus there is only a switch from one dependency to another.' 

Similarly, because of the flavor in vape, Kunwar says that it is very addictive. The use of vape increases due to the flavor itself. 

Just like any other drug, vape use can increase anxiety, says psychiatrist Aditya Dangol . "Once you are addicted to something, you have to rely on it for whatever you do." As soon as you have a slight negative feeling, instead of dealing with it, you tend to use the addictive substance . Feeling sad, angry, or happy increases substance use. It also increases anxiety,'' he says, 'the most comfortable vape is used in this . That's why its use has increased.

Dangol says that the social acceptance of vape has also helped its use to increase. Because it is understood that it does not harm, it has also been used openly in the society . From this, the teenagers are learning that smoking is addictive,' said Dangol .

_{95 cartoon vape recovered from Mustang}

Children and teenagers are also using it on the rise . Vape is also found in school students' bags. Pandey said. Similarly, while researching vape, Pandey started purchasing vape from an online portal. But he was surprised that he was not even shown a disclaimer about his age.