Various groups from the Philippines continue to advocate for smoke-free alternatives such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) as other countries in Southeast Asia started pushing for the regulation of smoke-free alternatives to reduce harm from smoking.
The proposed Vaporized Nicotine Products Regulation Act or vape bill passed by Congress is waiting for the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte. Academics and experts from the international community expressed support for the approval of the bill, saying that it will provide a less harmful alternative to cigarettes and reduce the death toll from smoking. The bill aims to regulate the use, manufacture, sale, trade, distribution and promotion of vaping products and heated tobacco in the country. However, it will also lower the minimum age for e-cigarette use from 21 years old to 18.
Imperial College London Center for Psychedelic Research Director Professor David Nutt said that the Philippines will benefit if vaping was encouraged over cigarettes.
Thailand is in the process of adopting a law that will lift the ban on vaping to provide adult smokers with smoke-free alternatives that are considered less harmful than cigarette smoking. Draft legislation that seeks to legalize e-cigarettes that have been filed at a sub-committee of Thailand’s parliament. Thailand Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn expressed support for the passing of the bill.
Anton Israel, President of Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines (NCUP) said that providing alternatives for more people will reduce the harmful effects of smoking. He added that more countries are beginning to realize that the best way to reduce harm from smoking is to provide consumers with better choices such as electronic cigarettes and HTPs.
Asian consumers deserve the same access to smoke-free cigarettes as what consumers in the US and Europe get. We hope that more Southeast Asian nations will adopt the more pragmatic and scientific approach to reduce the harm from smoking.
– Anton Israel
The coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates Philippine Representative Clarisse Virgino said that more Southeast Asian countries are expected to learn from Philippines’ experience, agreeing “welcoming tobacco harm reduction is the most effective public health strategy to address the smoking problem.”
