MMDA eyes e-cigarettes ban

IF THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority were to have its way, e-cigarettes would also be banned. RAFFY LERMA

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is studying the proposal to include e-cigarettes in the ban on smoking in public places, saying these are just as dangerous as real cigarettes.

“We have received complaints against e-cigarette smoking so the MMDA and Metro Manila Council (MMC) are studying the proposal to issue a resolution banning it in public places like malls and hospitals,” MMDA assistant general manager Emerson Carlos said Wedenesday.

The MMC—the policy-making body of the MMDA—is composed of Metro Manila mayors.

Carlos said that at present, the smoking of e-cigarettes in public places was not covered in existing antitobacco laws and ordinances.

He also noted that even the Department of Health had issued warnings against smoking e-cigarettes due to the dangers these may pose to one’s health.

Previously, the World Health Organization also urged the government to regulate the sale of e-cigarettes as international trends showed that people who started using these ended up smoking the real thing.

Likewise, the Food and Drug Administration advised the public against e-cigarettes, saying it contained “volatile organic substances” harmful to one’s health like propylene glycol and “carcinogenic” metals like nickel and chromium.

The MMDA has been at the forefront of implementing antismoking programs, including the enforcement of the Tobacco Regulations Act of 2003 which prohibits smoking in public places.