Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act

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Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act
Coat of arms of the Philippines.svg
Congress of the Philippines
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CitationRepublic Act No. 11900
Enacted byHouse of Representatives of the Philippines
Enacted bySenate of the Philippines
CommencedJuly 25, 2022
Legislative history
First chamber: House of Representatives of the Philippines
Bill citationHouse Bill 9007
Bill published onJanuary 26, 2022
Second chamber: Senate of the Philippines
Bill citationSenate Bill 2239
Bill published onJanuary 25, 2022
Status: In force

The Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 11900, is a law in the Philippines which aims to regulate the "importation, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products and novel tobacco products", such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.[1] It lapsed into law on July 25, 2022.[2] As a proposed measure, the law was known as the Vape Regulation Bill.

Background and history

As of 2015, there were more than 16 million smokers residing in the Philippines.[3] Tobaco smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease worldwide and generates more illness and premature death than any other avoidable cause.[4] [5] About 110,000 Filipinos die from tobacco-related diseases each year, with about 18.6% of deaths caused by tobacco smoke and 16.6% by tobacco.[6]

In 2017, then-president Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order no. 26, which banned smoking tobacco products in public places nationwide. EO 26 did not include e-cigarettes and did not specifically exclude new age nicotine delivery systems. As such, there were no regulations covering the new products. Some local government units opted to treat the new products like combustible tobacco and banned them.[7]

The Vape Regulation Bill was ratified by the Senate and the Lower House on January 6, 2022, during the Duterte administration. The ratified bill was submitted to the president on June 24, 2022, less than a week before Duterte left office.[8]

Duterte did not sign the bill into law nor veto it. Under Article VI, Section 27 (1) of the Constitution of the Philippines, the bill lapsed into law on July 25, 2022.[9]

Provisions

The official name of the law is An Act Regulating the Importation, Manufacture, Sale, Packaging, Distribution, Use, and Communication of Vaporized Nicotine and Non-nicotine Products, and Novel Tobacco Products, with the short name of Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act.[9]

The law's aims include environmental protection, protection against unknown harms of the new products, tobacco harm reduction, and reduction in the use of nicotine products by minors.[9][10]

The law bans the sale to and use by minors of these products, and also prohibits the advertising and sale of the same within 100 meters of school perimeters and playgrounds. The use of flavor descriptors for these products that are appealing to minors and the display "next to products of particular interest to minors" are likewise banned.[11]

The Department of Trade and Industry has regulatory jurisdiction over electronic cigarettes (vapes) and other heated tobacco products instead of the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health.[12]

Reactions

Concerns and opposition

Various groups and individuals expressed concerns and opposition over the development and passage of the bill.

  • Maria Rosario Vergeire from the Philippine Department of Health pledged to continue nicotine harm-reduction programs.[8]
  • The Child Rights Network objected to executive inaction in allowing the bill to become law. A group representative said the law would "harm generations of Filipino children and youth".[8]
  • Health advocacy organization Sin Tax Coalition predicted that the law would lead to increased vaping and credited its passage to the "tobacco industry's misinformation".[8]
  • ImagineLaw, a coalition of public interest lawyers, called the law a "regrettable development".[8]
  • Senator Pia Cayetano, one of two senators that opposed the bill, said that her heart was "broken but my spirit is not".[13]

Support

On the other hand, various medical professionals expressed support for the law.

  • In January 2022, cardiologist Rafael Castillo, former president of the Philippine Heart Association-Philippine College of Cardiology called the bill "historic legislation that will become part of the legacy of the Duterte administration". Castillo was one of the first to publish local research on the safety of heated tobacco products.[14]
  • Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Dental Federation Fernando Fernandez touted the public health benefits of the measure.[11]
  • Former Executive Director of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute Dante Dator predicted that the legislation would reduce the societal harms of smoking, including bladder cancer and erectile dysfunction.[14] According to him, "The Vape Bill is our first real anti-smoking measure since the Tobacco Regulation Act was enacted 20 years ago."[3]
  • Assunta Mendoza, former chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at ManilaMed, approved of the government's efforts to curb smoking-related loss of life and said "every smoker deserves a chance to be given an alternative to be able to stop smoking".[14]
  • Dr. Lorenzo Mata, president of Quit for Good, said that the bill "will inform millions of adult Filipino smokers about less harmful alternatives that are available and should be available to them, while the youth and non-smokers are protected"."[14]
  • Dr. Telesforo Gana, former president of the Philippine Urological Association, said that heated tobacco products had helped him quit smoking, adding that "there is a big chance that millions of Filipino smokers will also stop smoking and shift to these less harmful nicotine alternatives".[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gita-Carlos, Ruth Abbey (July 26, 2022). "Vape bill lapses into law". Philippine News Agency.
  2. ↑ Flores, Helen (July 27, 2022). "Vape bill lapses into law". The Philippine Star.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Doctors support Vape bill to lessen smoking problem". Manila Standard. July 18, 2022.
  4. ↑ Samet, Jonathan M. (February 13, 2013). "Tobacco smoking: the leading cause of preventable disease worldwide". Thoracic Surgery Clinics. 23 (2): 103–112. doi:10.1016/j.thorsurg.2013.01.009. PMID 23566962.
  5. ↑ "Nicotine without smoke: Tobacco harm reduction". Royal College of Physicians. Royal College of Physicians London.
  6. ↑ "Global Burden of Disease (GBD)". Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. University of Washington.
  7. ↑ Reyes, Mary Ann (June 26, 2019). "Safer nicotine products". The Philippine Star.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Valente, Catherine S. (July 27, 2022). "Vape bill lapses into law". The Manila Times.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Republic Act No. 11900" (PDF). Senate of the Philippines. Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  10. ↑ Punay, Edu (May 28, 2021). "House passes bill limiting vapes, e-cigs to ages 18 up". The Philippine Star.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gutierrez, Dennis (February 6, 2022). "Vape bill gives 16 million Filipinos a chance to evade harm from smoking". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  12. ↑ Gregorio, Xave (July 26, 2022). "Bill giving DTI power to regulate vapes, e-cigarettes lapses into law". The Philippine Star.
  13. ↑ Magsambol, Bonz (July 26, 2022). "Heated bill lowering vape access age from 21 to 18 lapses into law". Rappler.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 "Vape Law is Duterte legacy, top Filipino doctors say". Manila Bulletin. January 17, 2022.

External links

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