Parañaque City Rep. Eric Olivarez,author of House Bill 5093 or the proposed E-Cigarettes or Vape Regulation Act of 2014, said e-cigarettes cannot be considered completely risk-free because they are still a source of nicotine, a known addictive substance.
“Although it may be safer than a cigarette or tobacco, because it does not produce real smoke as a very dangerous by-product of the latter, the long-term effects of vaping e-cigarettes are still not guaranteed to be completely safe,” he said in the bill’s explanatory note.
Under Olivarez’s proposal, manufacturers of e-cigarettes will be required to put health warnings on the packaging of their products. The Department of Health (DOH) will prescribe the standard for the size and content for these labels.
Apart from this, the DOH may also impose restrictions and regulations on the flavor, composition, advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes.
The sale of e-cigarettes to minors will be prohibited regardless of who will use or consume the product.
Even if e-cigarettes are marketed as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, Olivarez said they can still induce substance dependence because they function as a nicotine delivery device.
“E-cigarette delivers toxic chemicals and carcinogens into the lungs. It also has the potential of making bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics,” he said.
E-cigarettes contain a liquid solution that produces an aerosol when heated by an atomizer inside the device.It is primarily composed of a mix of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG) and/or polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400), sometimes with differing levels of alcohol mixed with concentrated or extracted flavorings.Those who smoke e-cigarettes, or vape, may choose to include in the concoction a variable concentration of tobacco-derived nicotine.
HB 5093 requires companies planning to manufacture or distribute e-cigarettes in the Philippines, as well as those that are already in the business, to register the products and their ingredients first with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Local government units (LGU) will likewise be allowed to levy reasonable taxes on the manufacture, sale, distribution or importation of e-cigarettes.
The FDA has warned the public against using e-cigarettes, saying the device pose a threat not just to smokers, but also to those who inhale second-hand smoke from it. — Xianne Arcangel/JDS, GMA News
