Vape law will protect minors while giving smokers a fighting chance

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LAWMAKERS, advocates and industry stakeholders are confident that the implementation of the Vape Law will protect minors and non-smokers while providing more than 16 million smokers less harmful options as they sustain thr habit.

Former Valenzuela Rep. Wes Gatchalian, one of the main authors of RA 11900, said the law was enacted to regulate vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products and provide hope to millions of smokers who face serious health risks because of their exposure to smoke.

“If we don’t regulate these products, every kind of devices will proliferate in the market.

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Without regulating them, there will be no order. It would be difficult to police unwarranted and fly-by-night industries,” said Gatchalian, who is now the incumbent mayor of Valenzuela City.

He said the vape law will provide comprehensive restrictions on the trading of vape products, boost the economy by supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the government, protect minors and give adult smokers a chance to leave their deadly habit behind.

Gatchalian also said the vape law is one of the most highly-studied pieces of legislation passed and ratified by the 18th Congress, noting that it was in fact filed as early as the 17th Congress. “In the 18th Congress, I refiled the bill for the same reason that there are lot of smokers who approached the House Committee on Trade and Industry proposing the regulation of these innovative products,” he said.

As chair of the committee, Gatchalian said he studied the innovative products and listened to international experts in Geneva and London. “When I went back, this bill was thoroughly studied and debated upon, and we invited both sides to take part in the hearings. It is one of the bills that lasted 10 hearings and meetings of the technical working groups. It was also the first time we conducted a hearing in Congress where we invited foreign experts,” he said.

Gatchalian said that the bill was overwhelmingly approved by the House was further enhanced in the Senate and the bicameral conference committee. “Finally, after many years, we now have the first landmark law that will really regulate the use of these products,” he said.

“We fought for 16 million smokers who wanted to change. With this law, we regulate the products, we regulate the flavors, we regulate the marketing of the products to the youth.

This is purely for those who want to quit,” he said, adding: “This bill also tackled penalties.

These products are widely smuggled and with this bill, we will be able to protect SMEs that are into this business. We will eliminate smuggling, plus we will generate P27 billion in taxes for the government each year.”

Philippine E-cigarette Industry Association (PECIA) president Joey Dulay said RA 11900, or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, will regulate the industry for the welfare of consumers.

RA 11900, which became a law on July 25, 2022, regulates the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vaping products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs).

Dr. Lorenzo Mata Jr., a physician and president of the advocacy group Quit For Good, said the law will help address the the smoking epidemic, noting that compared to cigarette smoking, vaporized nicotine products such as e-cigarettes or vapes and HTPS are better alternatives because they do not produce smoke and generate only aerosol or vapor by heating the e-liquid or tobacco.

“Leading public health regulators around the world have found these novel products as less harmful compared to smoking cigarettes. No less than the top public health authorities from UK, US, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Ukraine and China have found that vape products are significantly less harmful than smoking,” he said.

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