DepEd urges Duterte to veto vape bill

The Department of Education on Thursday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to veto a bill that seeks to lower the age of access to vape and e-cigarette products.

In a statement, DepEd said that it is one with the Department of Health (DOH) and medical organizations in appealing to Duterte to overrule the Vaporized Nicotine Products Regulation Act.

The measure seeks to lower the age of access to vape and e-cigarette products from 21 to 18. It will also transfer the regulatory powers over the products from the Food and Drug Administration to the Department of Trade and Industry.

“As a government institution championing young Filipinos’ well-being, we are taking a stand against the so-called 'anti-health' vape bill, which will weaken existing law and the executive order against Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) or Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) commonly known as e-cigarettes or ‘vapes’,” DepEd said.

DepEd said that if passed into law, the bill will erode the important provisions already set forth in Republic Act No. 11467 and Executive Order No. 106 both signed by the President in 2020.

The agency added that the law and the executive order already regulate electronic nicotine/non-nicotine delivery systems, heated tobacco products, and other novel tobacco items.

According to DepEd’s information system, at least 870,000 learners in the basic education sector were 18 years old for School Year 2020-2021, while close to 1.1 million learners in senior high school were 18 to 20 years old.

“This is the number of learners who will become legally allowed to be marketed the harmful products once the bill becomes law,” DepEd said.

“We teach in schools how the part of the brain that is responsible for rational decisions does not fully develop until one is in their mid-twenties. Before that age, young people are very vulnerable to engaging in risky behaviors such as substance use and abuse. If there will be any attempt to amend existing laws, it should be to increase the age of access to harmful products, not lower it,” it stressed. — Mel Matthew Doctor/BM, GMA News