House official presses vape bill passage

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte can help the country recover from harsh economic effects of the two-year pandemic if he signs the Congress-approved bill that will regulate the vape industry, which provides imprisonment and penalty for those found selling to minors, according to a congressman.

Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian, a proponent of the vape bill in the House of Representatives who also sponsored the measure, said Senate Bill 2239 potentially generates billions for government in the form of taxes.

“From 2019, the excise taxes collected by the government on these products have increased from P12.2 billion to P15.3 billion, representing a growth of around 25 percent,” the Valenzuela City congressman disclosed.

The Department of Health is strongly urging Duterte to veto the measure, which lowers the age for using vapes and treats the products not as health items to be regulated by the DOH but as ordinary commodities under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The country’s largest medical organizations have also pushed for a veto of the bill by Duterte, who has banned smoking in public places.

The World Health Organization has said there is no scientific evidence that e-cigarettes help smokers quit the habit. Vape use has also been linked to several deaths due to lung injury notably in the United States.

“The taxes generated by these products can help the country as we strive to recover from the devastating economic effects of the pandemic,” Gatchalian argued.

“The signing of the Vape bill by the President will help industries that have been affected by the pandemic,” he said, noting that the vaporized nicotine and heated tobacco products industry has created 879 new enterprises and employs at least 3,000 workers.

He claimed the measure will prevent the proliferation of a backyard industry that has deprived the country of taxes. The bill, he added, will ensure that only legitimate products are introduced to the market and that proper excise taxes are paid to the government.

DTI data showed that over 75 percent of the registered and unregistered micro, small and medium enterprises were forced to completely stop operations or partially stop at the height of the pandemic, translating the figures to an estimated 3.75 million enterprises.

Gatchalian claimed the VNP (Vaporized Nicotine Product) bill sets strong measures to keep these products away from minors and non-smokers. Advertisements should not target or particularly appeal to minors, and VNP use is also banned in schools, playgrounds, colleges and universities.

The bill also restricts online sales and e-commerce platforms, and prohibits the industry from contracting health professionals, celebrities, social media influencers, to promote or encourage the use of these products.