TOKYO: E-cigarettes contain up to 10 times the amount of cancer-causing agents as regular tobacco, Japanese scientists said, the latest blow to an invention once heralded as less harmful than smoking.
A team of researchers commissioned by Japan's Health Ministry studied the vapour produced by e-cigarettes for signs of carcinogens, a media report said.
The electronic devices -- increasingly popular around the world, particularly among young people -- function by heating flavored liquid, which often contains nicotine, into a vapour that is inhaled, much like traditional cigarettes, but without the smoke.
Researchers found carcinogens such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in vapour produced by several types of e-cigarette liquid, TBS television reported.
Formaldehyde -- a substance found in building materials and embalming fluids -- was present at levels 10 times those found in the smoke from regular cigarettes, TBS said.
Researcher Naoki Kunugita and his team at the National Institute of Public Health submitted their report to the ministry on Thursday, the broadcaster said.
Neither the scientist nor anyone from the health ministry were immediately available to confirm the report.
In common with many jurisdictions, Japan does not regulate e-cigarettes, which can be bought easily on the Internet. However, unlike in some Western countries, they are not readily available in shops.
In August, the World Health Organization called on governments to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, warning they pose a "serious threat" to unborn babies and young people.
The UN health body also said they should be banned from indoor public spaces.
E-cigarettes have 10 times carcinogens: Researchers
E-cigarettes have 10 times carcinogens: Researchers
Junta leader Gen. Mamdi Doumbouya is declared winner of Guinea’s election, provisional results show
- Mamady Doumbouya took power in 2021 coup
CONAKRY, Guinea: Guinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya has been elected president, according to provisional results announced on Tuesday, completing the return to civilian rule in the bauxite- and iron ore-rich West African nation.
The former special forces commander, thought to be in his early 40s, seized power in 2021, toppling then-President Alpha Conde, who had been in office since 2010. It was one in a series of nine coups that have reshaped politics in West and Central Africa since 2020.
The provisional results announced on Tuesday showed Doumbouya winning 86.72 percent of the December 28 vote, an absolute majority that allows him to avoid a runoff.
The Supreme Court has eight days to validate the results in the event of any challenge.
Doumbouya’s victory, which gives him a seven-year mandate, was widely expected. Conde and Cellou Dalein Diallo, Guinea’s longtime opposition leader, are in exile, which left Doumbouya to face a fragmented field of eight challengers.
Doumbouya reversed pledge not to run
The original post-coup charter in Guinea barred junta members from running in elections, but a constitution dropping those restrictions was passed in a September referendum.
Djenabou Toure, the country’s top election official who announced the results on Tuesday night, said turnout was 80,95 percent. However voter participation appeared tepid in the capital Conakry, and opposition politicians rejected a similarly high turnout figure for the September referendum.
Guinea holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves and the richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, officially launched last month after years of delay.
Doumbouya has claimed credit for pushing the project forward and ensuring Guinea benefits from its output.
His government this year also revoked the license of Emirates Global Aluminium’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation following a refinery dispute, transferring the unit’s assets to a state-owned firm.
The turn toward resource nationalism — echoed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — has boosted his popularity, as has his relative youth in a country where the median age is about 19.
Political space restricted, UN says
Political debate has been muted under Doumbouya. Civil society groups accuse his government of banning protests, curbing press freedom and restricting opposition activity.
The campaign period was “severely restricted, marked by intimidation of opposition actors, apparently politically motivated enforced disappearances, and constraints on media freedom,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said last week.
On Monday, opposition candidate Faya Lansana Millimono told a press conference the election was marred by “systematic fraudulent practices” and that observers were prevented from monitoring the voting and counting processes.
The government did not respond to a request for comment.
