Regulate, but do not completely ban.
This is the sentiment of vape users after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced in a press conference last November 19 that he would ban the use and importation of e-cigarettes in the country. He likewise directed law enforcement agencies to arrest individuals found to be using vapes in public.
While this directive has yet to be fully implemented with an executive order, vape users are already voicing out their sentiments on this public issue. According to the Department of Health, there are an estimated one million Filipino vape users today.
Business developer and vape enthusiast Ibba Rasul Bernardo, while on DZIQ Radyo Inquirer yesterday, explained that there is a need to create governing policies and regulations regarding the use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), of which vapes and e-cigarettes are part, in order to manage or control risks related to their use.
The Department of Health recently brought to light the case of a 16-year-old girl from Visayas who was thought to have experienced an e-cigarette or vape-associated lung injury (Evali) after using e-cigarettes for 6 months. The case was unconfirmed, however, and the claim was later retracted.
“The cases of vape-related lung injury that we do know of are in the US and are those who have reconfigured or improvised their vapes to include illicit drugs in the vaporization process,” Bernardo said. “Other than that, vape-related injuries usually happen because of damaged lithium batteries that are most commonly used in vapes and e-cigarettes.”
He further explains that the real motivation behind Filipino vape users is to reduce their addiction to smoking combustible cigarettes, which is the primary cause of a wide variety of lung diseases. The use of vapes and e-cigarettes have been proven to reduce the use of combustible cigarettes in some countries.
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Vapes in Pasig City
This harm reduction benefit of vapes and e-cigarettes has led Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto to issue Ordinance No. 007 Series of 2019 titled “Regulating the Use and Sale of Vaporized and Heated Tobacco Products in Public Places and Public Conveyances, Advertisements and Promotions, and Providing Penalties Therefore.”
“We have allowed the use of vaping or e-cigarettes in designated areas in Pasig City,” Sotto told DZIQ Radyo Inquirer in an interview.
These places will be separate pa from the regular smoking zones because as I understand vaping is used by those trying to quit smoking na,” he adds.
In the new law, vapes or e-cigarettes may be used “in an open space or separate area with proper ventilation, but shall not be located within the same room that has been designated as a smoking area.”
At least one sign shall be posted that indicates the vaping area and include a warning about the health effects of vaping.
It is prohibited in places of worship, hospitals or health care centers, public transport, government buildings and educational or recreational facilities frequently accessed by minors.
Smoking vapes will also be allowed in outdoor areas with “no to low foot traffic without any need for designation as a vaping area.”
Violators will be fined P500 to P5000 and do community service of one to five days.
The distinction from regular smokers helps protect e-cigarette users from the harmful effects of cigarette smoking, including exposure to second and third-hand smoke. At the same time, designated areas protect non-smokers from being exposed to secondhand vapor.
“The ordinance is the first of its kind in the country, and we encourage other cities and municipalities to do the same,” Bernardo said. “What’s important to point out here is that vaping is for smokers who would like to reduce their dependence on smoking. If you are a non-smoker, don’t use vape. And also, respect other people’s air space. Don’t blow smoke in other people’s faces.”