DOH, health experts push for total vape ban to protect youth

2026-03-16 - 12:04

MANILA, Philippines – To better protect the youth against health risks brought by vaping, experts proposed stricter measures during a Senate health committee hearing on various bills seeking to regulate e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) on Monday, March 16. The Department of Health (DOH), along with health experts and researchers, proposed a total ban on vapes, HTPs, and other nicotine products on the market. “There are already eight [Southeast Asian] countries who are already banning vape in their countries, and it is only in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia where vape is under regulation and not banned,” DOH Health Promotion Bureau Director Tina Marasigan said in a mix of English and Filipino. Nowadays, vapes and HTPs are not the only options for nicotine products. There are nicotine e-liquids, lozenges, pouches, gums, and salts. “Kahit may polisiya para mag-regulate sa e-cigarette at vape, hindi po natin ito nararamdaman dahil dumarami pa rin po ang gumagamit ng lasong ito. Ang total ban ang magpapasimple ng enforcement dahil hindi na kailangang ihiwalay ang ilegal sa legal. Dahil kahit ano man po sa heated tobacco products, nic salt, at freebase vape – lahat po ‘yan ay lason,” read Marasigan from the DOH’s general manifestation. (Even though there is a policy to regulate e-cigarettes and vapes, we don’t feel it because the number of people using this poison is still increasing. A total ban will simplify enforcement because there is no need to separate the illegal from the legal. Anything from heated tobacco products and nic salts to freebase vape — all of them are poison.) Health experts have long said that it is misleading to advertise vapes as less harmful than cigarettes, since they still contain toxic chemicals. The DOH has been warning that usage of vapes and other nicotine products raises the risk of illnesses such as lung diseases, upper respiratory infections, cardiovascular diseases, immune system conditions, and cancer, among others. Cases of e-cigarette or vaping use–associated lung injury or EVALI have also been recorded in the Philippines, including one death — a 22-year-old male whose case was reported in 2024. Dr. Rizalina Gonzalez, chairperson of the Philippine Pediatric Society’s Tobacco Control Advocacy Group, compared how a smoker absorbs around 1 milligram of nicotine per cigarette stick, while vapes can have as high as 65 milligrams per milliliter, based on the law and existing regulations of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). ‘Marketed for children’ Current regulations also leave loopholes for vapes to reach the youth, potentially leading to further nicotine addiction. Data from the Department of Science and Technology–Food and Nutrition Research Institute showed that the number of Filipino youth using vapes soared more than 1,000% from 37,513 in 2021 to 423,185 in 2023. Gonzalez cited findings from one of their school surveys in 2025 showing that more than 60% of students had tried e-cigarettes. “It is online, it is available in retail stores, and the proliferation of 24/7 vape shops, even though there is an age restriction of 18 [years old].... [The products are] attractive. The colors, there are cartoon characters, there are fruit flavors; there are actually flavors which are marketed as fruits, desserts, and all.... There [are] lanyards, the jackets [as merchandise].... So, who is the target? I don’t think it’s adults; they are marketed for children,” Gonzalez said. Trade Assistant Secretary Marcus Valdez II noted that sellers have become elusive, selling inside residential areas and using altered product names online. “We have Meta, Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop — primarily it’s their sellers onboarded in the platforms that are selling substandard products or unlicensed products, which include vape,” Valdez said. The DTI confiscated products worth P519 million in 2025 alone. In August last year, the trade department also ordered e-commerce platforms to remove illegal vape listings within seven days. These sites were reminded to comply with Republic Act No. 11900 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act and RA 11967 or the Internet Transactions Act. Philippines as ‘global ashtray’? Former DOH officials across administrations are backing the call for a total vape ban, including ex-secretaries Jaime Galvez Tan, Carmencita Reodica, Manuel Dayrit, Esperanza Cabral, Enrique Ona, Paulyn Rosell-Ubial, and Francisco Duque III. “We are losing ground compared to our [Southeast Asian] neighbors who have already enforced a total vape ban. We fear we will become the dumping ground — as if a global ashtray — for vapes that other countries will reject,” they said in a joint statement on Monday. “At this critical moment, the fastest and most comprehensive way to stop the expansion of youth nicotine addiction is to remove vapes, heated tobacco products, and other electronic nicotine delivery systems from the market. Partial restrictions and fiscal intervention do not suffice to stem the tide of nicotine addiction among our youth.” The former DOH officials added that the long-term goal should be to phase out all tobacco and nicotine products. The Senate health committee, chaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros, will convene a technical working group to create a consolidated bill that could seek to totally ban vapes or increase the age restriction to 21 or 25 years old, from the current 18 years old. – Rappler.com