The House Committee on Dangerous Drugs has received assurance from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that it is now going after the smugglers and distributors of the illegal Thuoc Lao cigarettes or “tuklaw” in the country.

This followed the viral videos of young individuals who suffered supposed seizures or convulsions upon consuming tuklaw--also known as black cigarettes. "Tuklaw" is Filipino for snake bite.

The dangerous drugs panel is chaired in the current 20th Congress by Bukidnon 2nd district Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores.

It was Las Pinas City lone district Rep. Mark Santos who asked the PDEA and other participating law enforcers in a panel hearing last Aug. 13 how they planned to address the threat brought by tuklaw.

"So nakita niyo po yung mga viral videos nangingisay yung mga bata, mga estudyante, kabataan. And mabigat po itong problema ko kasi sigarilyo lang po ito...ano na po ang update dito ng ating mga government agencies sa anti-drugs natin and likewise yung source nito, yung port of yung mga entry points natin. And what are the agencies doing about it?" he asked.

(So you’ve seen the viral videos of children, students, and youth convulsing. And this is a big problem for me because it’s just a cigarette… What’s the update from our government agencies regarding our anti-drug efforts, and likewise, the source of this, like the ports or our entry points? And what are the agencies doing about it?)

PDEA Director General Isagani Nerez responded to the solon by saying that a crackdown on the source of tuklaw has already been launched.

He said that based on PDEA's research along with the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), tuklaw--which reportedly originated from South America--had a way higher nicotine content (9 percent) compared to normal cigarettes in the country (1.5 percent to 3 percent).

It also contains the chemical known as synthetic cannabinoid. Nerez said the DDB had listed this as a dangerous drug way back in 2023.

“it appears that if you are not a smoker, especially a heavy smoker, then you will be affected by the high nicotine content and the effect of that laced synthetic cannabinoid," he said.

“Yes, we have sufficient legal basis to conduct an extensive follow-up investigation with the help of the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) and we are now confident to say that yes, we can arrest the possessors of those [tuklaw]," Nerez told the House members.

Santos advised the authorities to keep a close eye on online transactions involving students and the youth, as well as the possibility that these black cigarettes are being treated as a cheaper alternative to other dangerous drugs like "shabu".