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You Can No Longer Vape in Public in the Philippines

Bad news for vapers, good news for those who hate random whiffs of cotton candy-scented smoke.
vape ban public spaces phiippines
For illustrative purposes only. Photo by Psk Slayer on Unsplash

Do you ever just sit around at a party and notice a cloud of smoke with a sweet, sometimes fruity aroma seep into the air? At first, you wonder where it’s coming from but, within seconds, you realise: Oh, it’s vape.

While e-cigarettes continue to be popular in the Philippines — JUUL officially launched in the country last year — Filipinos might start seeing (and smelling) less of it, at least in public. On Wednesday, February 26, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order (EO) that prohibits vaping in public places.

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Executive Order 106 is an expansion of the 2017 nationwide smoking ban, ABS-CBN News reported. It now also prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and requires the registration of such products with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This includes all e-liquids, solutions or refills forming components of electronic nicotine, and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS/ENNDS) such as Juuls or Caliburns or heated tobacco products (HTPs) like the IQOS cigarettes and device.

Meanwhile, establishments that sell, manufacture, and import vaping products are required to secure a license to operate from the FDA.

“[T]here is a need to regulate access to and use of ENDS/ENNDS, heated tobacco products and other novel tobacco products to address the serious and irreversible threat to public health, prevent the initiation of non-smokers and the youth, and minimize health risks to both users and other parties exposed to emissions,” the EO states.

This follows last year’s health scare after numerous health officials from around the world reported cases of electronic cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI), more popularly known as “popcorn lung,” among teens. According to reports, there were 2,290 popcorn lung cases around the world, killing 47 people.

Anti-tobacco groups have urged Duterte to reconsider the vaping ban, saying that it was a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes, but the president still went ahead with it.

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In a statement last year, Duterte said: “I do not want anyone in the Philippines vaping. The executive order will come.”

And now it’s here.

According to the Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH), over a million Filipinos vape. The department warned that e-cigarettes have not been proven as a healthier alternative to conventional cigarettes.

The 2017 smoking ban has left smokers wary of where to smoke in public spaces. They now walk long distances to find spots where they can puff. Now people dedicated to their vaping have to do the same too.

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