The Vaporized Nicotine Product (VNP) or vape bill, a landmark measure approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, will provide more than 16 million Filipino smokers with less harmful alternatives and stop minors’ access to these products, according to a leader of the House of Representatives.
“We made sure that we strike a good balance between protecting minors and giving adult smokers a chance to leave their deadly habit behind when we crafted the vape bill,” said House Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian.
Gatchalian said it took the 18th Congress two years to finally approve the vape bill, but previous versions of the bill were filed as early as 2011 during the 16th Congress. It was only this year when both houses of Congress approved a consolidated version of the landmark bill.
“The House (of Representatives) conducted seven technical working group hearings and three public consultations attended by medical experts and representatives of groups who are against as well as those who see the benefits of regulating science-backed innovative alternatives to address the smoking problem in the country,” he said.
Gatchalian noted that the final version of the bill, following the approval by the Bicameral Conference Committee, dedicated two-thirds of the provisions for the protection of minors.
These include age verification for online sales, prohibition of sales and promotion of vapes and HTPS within 100 meters from school perimeters, ban on product communications and promotions that appeal to minors, ban on the use of influencers and celebrities as product endorsers, and ban on participation of minors in vape industry events.
The bill also provides the Food and Drug administration the authority to assess and approve products with medicinal, therapeutic and reduced risk claims, and mandates the Department of Trade and Industry to issue product safety standards.
Gatchalian said the bill seeks to strengthen the regulation of smoke-free alternatives such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs), as current laws are not enough to penalize the sale of substandard products or discourage minors from using them.
He said there’s no law yet that imposes stricter regulations on the importation, manufacturing, selling and advertising of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products.
“This is where the vape bill comes in. It spells out the regulation and penalties, including imprisonment for violators, to ensure that only adult smokers can get their hands on these less harmful alternatives,” he said.
The bill particularly strengthens the provisions of Republic Act 11467, which imposes taxes on vapes and HTPs, and Executive Order 106 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte that prohibits unregistered or tampered products.
The bill, which was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, is in line with the tobacco harm reduction approach—a pragmatic public heath strategy which aims to reduce the harm from smoking.
Despite the prohibitive approaches implemented by the government, the Philippines continues to suffer from high smoking rate. Once enacted into law, the Vape Bill will regulate smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes, such as vapes and HTPs.
More than 16 million Filipinos continue to smoke, according to the 2015 Global Adult Tobacco Survey. About 77 percent of smokers planned or thought about quitting, but only 4 percent were successful, leaving most smokers exposed to the harm of combustible cigarettes.
