More than a million Filipino smokers have quit with the help of less harmful vapor options such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) and more are expected to evade serious illnesses and even death when the vape bill is signed by President Duterte into law.
Several consumer groups expressed this optimism following the overwhelming approval of the Vaporized Nicotine Product Regulation bill in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Department of Health estimates that there are one million vapers and 16 million smokers in the country today.
Vaper AKO said several well-known personalities as well as thousands of others were able to quit smoking with the help of vaping and HTPs, which according to abundant international scientific studies, are significantly less harmful than combusted tobacco. These cigarette alternatives employ heating, instead of burning, to deliver nicotine.
“The science supporting vaping and heated tobacco as less harmful alternatives to cigarettes can’t be denied anymore. Progressive countries including the US, the UK, New Zealand and many more have embraced these non-combustible alternatives, following extensive scrutiny by their respective public health institutions,” said Joaqui Gallardo, spokesman of Vaper AKO.
Public Health England, the highest health authority in the United Kingdom, confirmed that vapor products are at least 95-percent less harmful than traditional cigarettes, while the US Food and Drugs Administration noted that nicotine is not the primary cause of smoking related diseases but the smoke from combustion. Smoke produced by burning is the one responsible for millions of deaths globally and this could be reduced if smokers would stop smoking or switch to smoke-free or non-combustible products, according to scientific studies.
“In the Philippines, more than a million former smokers have made the switch. No less than the President's son, Vice-Mayor Sebastian ‘Baste’ Duterte has openly switched to a heated tobacco product,” said Gallardo.
The Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines (NCUP) said other political leaders such as the mayor of Manila and presidential candidate Isko Moreno switched to these alternative products.
“More and more adult smokers who had no success in quitting smoking before have finally found what works for them to kick the deadly habit. A UK study concluded that non-combustible alternatives are twice as effective compared to nicotine replacement therapy in helping smokers quit,” NCUP president Anton Israel said.
“This is evident even here in the Philippines. More than a million vapers have already left smoking behind with the help of vapes and heated tobacco products. Si Mayor Isko nga na dating gumagamit ng Marlboro, ngayon nag-IQOS na for his health (Even Mayor Isko, who was a former Marlboro smoker, has switched to IQOS, a heated tobacco product, for his health),” Israel said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who voted in favor of the vape bill, said he personally witnessed how HTPs helped his brother—TV host and comedian Vic Sotto—quit smoking. “I have a personal reason for voting yes. My brother was a heavy smoker for 45 years. When he switched to heated tobacco, he has stopped completely smoking and is very healthy,” he said.
Sotto also clarified that the vape bill was not designed to encourage the youth and non-smokers to use these products, but to provide adult smokers with alternatives to traditional cigarettes.
Congress earlier ratified the vape bill which seeks to regulate e-cigarettes and HTPs, while providing 16 million adult Filipino smokers with less harmful alternatives. The bill is also expected to end to the sale of unregulated and illegal products that do not contribute excise taxes to the government.
Once signed into law, the government will properly regulate the sale and use of these products and provide a new revenue stream for public coffers in support of the Universal Health Care program.
It will also elevate the Philippines to the list of progressive countries which recognize tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a public health strategy. International studies show that countries which adopted progressive policies around vaping have seen their smoking rates fall twice as fast as other countries.
The vape bill has provisions to protect minors from accessing and consuming these products. It specifically bans the sale to and use by minors, and the sale, advertising and promotion of vape products within 100 meters of school perimeter and playground.
Use of flavor descriptors that unduly appeal to minors in vape products and the display of vape products immediately next to products of particular interest to minors are prohibited.
The vape bill also ensures that these smoke-free products are registered with and regulated by the Department of Trade and Industry, thereby preventing smuggling and illicit trade of substandard nicotine products.
It supports also the livelihood of 2.7 million Filipino farmers and workers who depend on the tobacco industry.
More importantly, the bill will help smokers in their smoke-free journey. Several medical professionals who are directly involved in treating smokers have attested to the efficacy of vapor products in helping smokers quit.
Dr. Fernando Fernandez, Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Dental Federation and the past president of the Philippine Dental Association, described the vape bill as a big win for public health as this would encourage more smokers to quit. A study shows that while more than 76 percent of smokers in the country wanted to quit, only 4 percent were able to do so.
Most smokers support the regulation of less harmful options. A study by ACORN Marketing & Research Consultants, an independent Asian research network, shows that 94 percent of Filipinos agree that the government should enact policies to encourage adult smokers to switch to less harmful tobacco alternatives.