Senator calls for total vape ban

A SENATOR called on the Philippine government to ban the use of electronic cigarettes or vape products, in line with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states that imposed a ban amid health concerns.

Senator Pilar Juliana “Pia” S. Cayetano, who heads the Ways and Means Committee, said that the Philippines should follow ASEAN countries in banning vape products following increase in e-cigarette use among adolescents aged 10 to 19.

“The tobacco industry would like us to believe that vapes and all these alternative products are safer for us. That has been their battle cry. It is not safer, that is the big problem that we have right now,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.

Among ASEAN countries that already banned vape products are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Ms. Cayetano added that the implementation of existing regulations on the use of vapes remained weak.

She said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should handle the regulation of vape products instead of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), noting that the FDA has the proper mandate and technical expertise to control the products.

“The vape law gave the DTI the power to test and to regulate. They’re not doing their job,” Ms. Cayetano said.

Republic Act No. 11900, the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, granted authority to the DTI to regulate Philippine vape businesses, and lowering the purchasing age to 18. — Adrian H. Halili