MANILA, Philippines—Smokers using electronic cigarettes in public places should also be apprehended like those puffing regular cigarettes in no smoking
are
as, a Department of Health (DOH) official said Tuesday.
“Smoking pa rin ’yan. Kaya ’pag sinabing ‘no smoking in public places,’ [at] naglalakad sa mall [while smoking] dapat hulihin yon. Hindi pwdeng sabihin na porket e-cigarette ang sinisigarilyo niya ay safe na,” Health Undersecretary Teodoro Herbosa said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM.
(It’s still smoking. So when you say ‘no smoking’ in public places and you see somebody puffing away with an e-cigarette in prohibited places like malls the person should be apprehended. It cannot be argued that smoking e-cigarette is safe.)
Herbosa cited a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) which said that the smoke emitted by an e-cigarette is also dangerous to health.