Duterte formalizes ban on public vaping, sale of unregistered e-cigarettes

President Rodrigo Duterte has issued an executive order against vaping in public and prohibited the sale and manufacture of unregistered e-cigarettes due to their potential health risks.

Signed on Wednesday, Duterte’s Executive Order 106 came months after he made a pronouncement against the use and importation of vaping products in the country.

Vaping may be allowed in a building or conveyance, which may either be an open space or separate area with proper ventilation, the EO said. Minors are prohibited from entering the designated vaping area.

Under the EO, all e-liquids, solutions or refills forming components of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS/ENNDS) or heated tobacco products (HTPs) must be registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

All devices forming components of ENDS/ENNDS or HTPs are subject to the product standards imposed by the Department of Trade and Industry and the FDA.

Other novel tobacco products will be regulated in accordance with the law and other issuances while establishments that manufacture, distribute, import, and sell e-cigarettes are required to get a license to operate from the FDA.

E-cigarette packaging should contain information on the components of the product and appropriate health warnings.

“[T]here is a need to regulate access to and use of ENDS/ENNDS, heated tobacco products and other novel tobacco products to address the serious and irreversible threat to public health, prevent the initiation of non-smokers and the youth, and minimize health risks to both users and other parties exposed to emissions,” the EO stated.

Duterte cited a report by the Department of Health stating that users and bystanders exposed to emissions from the use of e-cigarettes and other novel tobacco products are at risk of contracting respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, brain development retardation, cancer and sexual and reproductive dysfunctions.

The President also banned the use and sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products by a minor, or e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products or their components by a person below 21 years old.

Selling and promoting e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in a school, playground, recreational facilities for minors, youth hostels, areas frequented by minors or within 100 meters from any point of these places is not allowed.

The importation of unregistered e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products or their components is also prohibited. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News