Crackdown sought on sale  of illegal e-cigarettes

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Consumer group Rights Action Philippines (RAP) urged the government to crack down on the sale of illegal e-cigarettes as these products are becoming more accessible to the youth.

“The blatant sale of cheap and illegal e-cigarettes online and in vape shops is alarming.  They are accessible even to minors because they are sold cheap because they do not pay proper taxes. Moreso, they use young influencers to market their products,” said Rey Dulay, RAP president, in a statement yesterday.

E-cigarettes  are in  a new and emerging product category that includes disposable vapes, vapes and heated tobacco products.

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Last October , the Bureau of Customs seized in Valenzuela City about 14,000 boxes of 1.4 million illegally imported vape pods, valued at P1.58 billion with a total dutiable value of P728 million, P770 million in excise taxes plus PP84 million in value-added tax.

“That seizure is just the tip of the iceberg, and it is alarming to see the flood of illegal e-cigarettes entering the country. How do these minors get these illegal products? Why doesn’t the government regulate these products strictly?” Dulay said.

The Department of Trade and Industry is the government agency charged with implementing f Republic Act No. 11900  or the Vape Law.

Common violations of non-compliant vape establishments are the failure to post the minimum age requirement, the sale of vapor products that are appealing to minors, such as those with fruit, candy, and dessert flavors; and/or packaging that features cartoon characters, and the sale of said products within 100 meters from any school, or other facilities frequented by minors.

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