QC councilors ban sale of e-cigarettes to minors

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Soon, it will be illegal for vendors in Quezon City to sell electronic or e-cigarettes to minors.

On Tuesday, the city council passed on third and final reading an ordinance which bans anyone—from sidewalk vendors to store owners—from selling e-cigarettes to persons aged below 18.

The ordinance amends the one passed in 1998 which prohibited the sale of cigarettes and tobacco to minors. It also provides for stiffer penalties for violators.

While the effects of e-cigarettes remain largely unknown, early studies indicate that they pose potential dangers for users as well as nonusers who passively inhale the chemical vapors, according to the ordinance introduced by Councilor Julienne Alyson Rae Medalla.

“The US Food and Drug Administration and many leading health organizations generally agree on the need for further scientific study to assess unproven safety claims about e-cigarettes,” it said.

“Potentially harmful constituents have been documented in some e-cigarette cartridges, including diethylene glycol, genotoxins and animal carcinogen,” it added.

Violators of the ordinance which will become a law once signed by Mayor Herbert Bautista face a minimum fine of P5,000 or imprisonment of 30 days.

Both penalties will be applied for succeeding violations in addition to the revocation of the vendor’s business permit.