Government to purge 15,000 more 'non-compliant' vape sellers online

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos Jr. administration is reportedly ramping up efforts to regulate the electronic cigarettes trade, as its eyeing to remove 15,000 more sellers in online marketplaces.

This is what Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said in a Friday morning interview with DZBB Super Radyo. 

“We have monitored almost 15,000 sellers online. We’ve advised platforms to remove almost 15,000 we observed that were non-compliant. These sellers all have cases already,” she said in the radio interview. 

The Department of Trade and Industry official noted that unregistered vape products were already subjected to the Vape Law, since implementing rules and regulations of the law came into force back on December 28. 

The law prohibits various measures to limit the vape trade in the country. As it is, sales of fruit-flavored vape juices are restricted, colorful caricatures stamped on products are not allowed since it could entice minors and that establishments cannot sell these products 100 meters from schools. 

Data shared by the DTI indicated they have confiscated P3 million worth of vape products, mostly in Metro Manila as of mid-April. 

Despite the eye-popping figures, Castelo lamented that the state is still mulling over whether to ban selling of vapes, even online as e-commerce is an industry brimming with potential for growth. 

“If online platforms would just strictly follow, there is no need to remove the sale of this product from them,” she added. 

The DTI said they sat down with e-commerce platforms in the country about this growing issue. Shopee and Lazada complied with the law’s implementation, according to Castelo. The former expelled more than a million merchants, while the latter removed 170,000 sellers from its platform. 

“It’s already indicated which products they can’t sell but some still evade detection,” the trade official added. — Ramon Royandoyan