Philippines’ new vape law legitimizes vaping as a method for smokers to reduce or eliminate their health risks.
The Philippines’ Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act automatically became law on July 25 after both former president Rodrigo Duterte and current president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. took no action to sign or veto the bill within the 30-day period after the bill was submitted to Duterte on June 24.
The new law, in essence, legitimizes vaping as a method for smokers to reduce or eliminate their health risks and becomes official two weeks after publication in the Official Gazette.
Press secretary Rose Beatrix Cruz-Angeles said President Marcos Jr. allowed the proposed vape regulation bill to lapse without his signature on it. Under the new law, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) receives authority to regulate vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products and their devices and novel tobacco products made from tobacco leaves or which have nicotine in tobacco. DTI will also consult with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in setting technical standards for the safety, consistency, and quality of vape products.
FDA will, however, maintain authority over products making health claims, such as nicotine replacement therapies. The Department of Health (DOH) will prescribe guidelines on the implementation of smoking and vaping restriction awareness campaigns. The new law also sets the minimum legal age for the purchase, sale, and use of such products at 18 years old, protecting minors from access to vape devices.
According to former House deputy speaker, Rodante Marcoleta, one of the bill’s primary authors in Congress, the bill is a “gift to the Filipino people towards better health and well-being.”
“This anti-smoking vape law is a landmark public health measure that we should all be proud of,” Marcoleta said. “It’s our first comprehensive anti-smoking law in almost 20 years. With this law, we have a very good chance to eradicate the smoking epidemic, which kills almost 100,000 Filipino smokers every year, once and for all. It will be just a matter of time before we see our country’s smoking rate go down.”