Health advocates on Saturday called on the Senators to uphold public health interest in the deliberation of the bills seeking to regulate vapes and e-cigarettes and expressed their support to the manifestation of Senator Pia Cayetano to move the deliberation of said bills back to the Committee on Health and Demography.
On March 10, 2021, Senator Pia Cayetano questioned the transfer of the bills from the Committee on Health and Demography where they were originally and rightfully lodged to the Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship.
On March 10, 2021, Senator Pia Cayetano questioned the transfer of the bills from the Committee on Health and Demography where they were originally and rightfully lodged to the Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship.
“This move does not make sense from the health and rights perspectives. The people’s right to health is paramount over commercial interests,” said Ana Nemenzo of WomanHealth Philippines
The advocates highlighted that vapes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) are primarily a health issue and must be regulated from the perspective of health.
"There is categorical evidence of the adverse health effects of e-cigarettes and vapes. These products contain and emit harmful chemicals, among them nicotine, a highly addictive and poisonous chemical that increases the risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and reproductive and perinatal disorders, suppresses the immune response, and plays a clear role in carcinogenesis. Nicotine also impairs adolescent brain maturation with short-term and long-term adverse consequences for teen addiction and cognitive and behavioral development,” said Dr. Rizalina Gonzalez of the Philippine Pediatric Society.
Dr. Gonzalez added that the use of these products during the COVID-19 pandemic increases the risk of transmission of the virus and the users’ susceptibility to the virus. It also lowers their ability to cope once they have contracted the infection, which may result in more severe symptoms.
“The very nature of these products dictates that they be regulated primarily for health reasons” she emphasized.
Unfortunately, vapes and HTP manufacturers target the young people despite the existence of a law that prevents the sale of these products to people below 21 years of age, thus posing even more danger to the youth.
The Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship is scheduling a public hearing on March 17. This will be the first time that the Senate will tackle the e-cigarette regulation bill in the current Congressional session.
“We call on the Senate to uphold the government’s mandate to protect and promote health as enshrined in the Philippine constitution. We appeal to the Senators, particularly Senator Christopher "Bong" Go who is the Chair of Committee on Health and Demography, to take affirmative action on regulating vapes and HTPs,” said former Department of Health Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan.
This Press Release has been delivered by Health Justice Philippines few weeks ago.
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