ILOILO Rep. Janette Garin yesterday warned the public against using vape after the Department of Health reported that a 22-year-old male died of a heart attack due to a severe lung injury linked to his use of vape for two years.
“This should serve as an eye opener to the public, especially to the youth. Using vape has its harmful effects and can be deadly,” Garin, a former health secretary, said in a statement. “It is alarming. We have seen reports that children aged 13 years old are already using e-cigarettes and vapes.”
A DOH study revealed the 22-year-old victim had a two-day history of sudden onset of severe chest pains after sports activity associated with dyspnea, diaphoresis, and myalgia.
Before that, he had a one-week history of productive cough, hemoptysis, fever, and vomiting.
The administration lawmaker pointed out that vaping is not an alternative to smoking cigarettes, adding that vaping is not safer since vape users may suffer from a medical condition called e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury or EVALI.
EVALI is a serious medical condition in which a person’s lungs become damaged from substances contained in e-cigarettes and vaping products, Garin said, quoting Yale Medicine.
The DOH reported the first EVALI case in the country in November 2018.
Garin also cited Global Youth Tobacco’s survey which revealed that approximately one out of seven youth, with ages ranging from 13 to 15, are already using vape.
“Our youth is being lured to nicotine addiction, especially with the different flavors of the said electronic device and some of them are unaware of its contents,” she said.
The same survey found that around 11 percent of Filipino students use tobacco, 10 percent smoke cigarettes, and 14 percent use e-cigarettes.
Data from the Philippine Pediatric Society has also shown that 11 percent of students aged 10 to 15 years old have already tried vapes.
HIGHER VAPE TAX
The anti-smoking group the Sin Tax Coalition yesterday called on lawmakers to raise excise taxes on vaping products and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) to make them less accessible to the youth.
In a statement, the Sin Tax Coalition said one way to protect the youth from vaping is by increasing their costs, much like regular cigarettes.
“The government must protect the youth from the tobacco industry’s deception and lies by strengthening regulations on tobacco products and e-cigarettes,” the Sin Tax Coalition said.
“The most effective way to reduce vaping prevalence is to raise prices through excise taxes,” it added.
The group said this is because the youth are the most responsive to changes in the price of products.
“It means that the higher prices will prevent the youth from initiating e-cigarette use,” it said.
Vaping devices usually cost between P1,000 to P2,000 while e-liquid pods are priced at around P200 to P800.
“There is still room to increase taxes on e-cigarettes and reduce the number of youths falling prey to nicotine addiction,” said the Sin Tax Coalition.
The Philippines passed the Sin Tax Law in 2012, which raised the price of cigarettes due to the imposition of higher taxes on tobacco products.
This resulted in the smoking prevalence among those belonging to the 18 to 24 years old age group being reduced from 35 percent in December 2012 to 18 percent in March 2014.
