E-cigs can help you quit smoking? Fake news, says Thailand
The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry says reports that electronic cigarettes can help you quit smoking are fake news and should not be taken seriously.
In the ministry’s fake news weekly update on Sunday, spokesperson Noppawan Huajaiman said reports and posts about e-cigarettes were among the top 10 fake news items it detected between November 18 and 24.
“Several research studies have concluded that using e-cigarettes still increases the risk of diseases caused by smoking normal cigarettes,” Noppawan said.
US and UK health authorities, however, have found evidence that e-cigarettes can be useful in helping smokers to quit the habit.
The ministry’s anti-fake news centre said it monitored 5.18 million online posts and messages during the week and detected that 225 were spreading fake news on 100 topics. The majority of the fake-news topics (64) were related to government policies, it said. Notably, three of the topics were scare stories about Covid-19 after the recent rise in infection rate.
The top 10 fake news items circulating from November 18-24 according to the ministry:
1. E-cigarettes can help you quit smoking.
2. Antiparasitic drug Ivermectin can treat Covid-19.
3. Lime juice can be used to treat kidney disease.
4. The Labour Ministry is hiring people to work from home.
5. A weed called Ya Khai Hao (Mollugo pentaphylla) can treat all kinds of cancer.
6. Others can know your bank account balance from your mobile phone number used to register with Promptpay.
7. The Stemonaceae plant, which is used to make traditional Thai insecticide and anti-parasite concoctions, can cure cancer.
8. Parents of children under six can register to receive a government subsidy of 1,400 baht per month.
9. Eating vitamin-C along with shrimps will immediately kill you.
10. E85 gasohol can remove black spots on your skin.
