A LOCAL clinical study conducted by a scientific research group has proven that Republic Act No. 11900, or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act or the vape law, is a less harmful regulation against smoking.
The Harm Reduction Alliance of the Philippines (HARAP) said it conducted the study to compare smoke-free products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, with conventional cigarettes that involve combustion.
“When we conducted the first local clinical study on vapor products, HARAP already found that they produce lesser heavy metals like lead and cadmium than cigarettes. HARAP has also participated in various international fora, where the consensus is that these smoke-free alternatives are better than combusted cigarettes,” said Dr. Ronald P. Cabral, co-convenor of HARAP.
HARAP, which has medical professionals and researchers as members, is among the first groups in the Philippines to conduct a scientific study on vaporized nicotine products and their impact on the health of consumers. It described the recently enacted vape law as a major anti-smoking regulation that will provide Filipino smokers access to regulated less harmful alternatives.
It was also among the scientific research groups that presented its findings to the 18th Congress, which after 10 hearings and technical working group meetings, overwhelmingly approved the vape bill in January 2022. Foreign experts were also invited to the hearings at the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“The Harm Reduction Alliance of the Philippines applauds the passage of the new ‘anti-smoking’ vape law. This development affirms the sound and real science behind tobacco harm reduction (THR) which countries like the U.K., Japan and New Zealand have accepted and implemented,” said Prof. Ron Christian G. Sison, HARAP’s lead convenor.
THR is a public health strategy that involves the use of less harmful alternatives to combusted cigarettes such as vapes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) to mitigate adult smokers’ exposure to tobacco smoke, which contains toxic substances. Experts said it is the smoke, and not nicotine, that causes diseases.
“THR encourages adults unable or does not want to quit smoking to switch to less harmful smoke-free alternatives,” said Prof. Sison.
Experts said that compared to cigarette smoking, vaporized nicotine products do not produce smoke and generate vapor by heating the e-liquid or tobacco.
Public Heath England, the highest health authority in the United Kingdom, found vapes to be at least 95-percent less harmful than traditional cigarettes. HARAP said its own studies also found that smoke-free alternatives produce lesser heavy metals.
The Department of Health has identified the Philippines as one of 15 countries worldwide with a heavy burden of tobacco-related illnesses. About 86,000 Filipinos reportedly die annually from more than 40 smoking-related diseases, including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and stroke, it said.
Studies also showed that as of the year 205, some 16.6 million adults or 23.8 percent of the Philippine population are tobacco smokers. The Philippines also has a significantly low annual quit rate of 4 percent, meaning that not even 1 out of 10 smokers will quit in a year, according to HARAP.
RA 11900, which lapsed into law on July 25, 2022, regulates the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vaping products such as e-cigarettes and HTPs. It is envisioned to provide more than 16 million Filipino smokers with less harmful alternatives to combusted cigarettes.
HARAP was founded in 2018 to advance the understanding of harm reduction policies in promoting public health, which includes road safety, sustainable development, HIV/AIDS support and tobacco harm reduction.