Philippines tightens ban on e-cigarette flavors
March 7, 2022
Par: National Committee Against Smoking
Dernière mise à jour: March 7, 2022
Temps de lecture: 6 minutes
New e-cigarette law expands flavor ban in Philippines despite strong pressure from manufacturers, via front groups which have nevertheless obtained compensation on online sales, advertising and the legal purchasing age.
After a highly publicized series of deaths in the United States in 2019, e-cigarettes were banned for a time in the Philippines, with President Rodrigo Duterte even asking police to arrest people vaping on the street. The country then softened its stance and reauthorized the sale of e-cigarettes in late 2020, requiring a 50% surface area on packaging for health warnings and imposing several restrictions on use or sale to those under 21.[1].
Controversy over the new law
The 2020 law, however, seemed insufficient and the government prepared a new bill in 2021 aimed in particular at banning most flavours in vaping products, with the exception of menthol and tobacco flavours. This law also provides for a ban on products with a nicotine content exceeding 65 mg/ml. It restricts advertising when it targets minors and prohibits vaping in public buildings and churches. However, it has reduced the legal age of sale to 18.
This law was adopted by the Philippine Senate at the end of January 2022 and is due to come into force in May 2022. It is accompanied by severe penalties for violations. However, it was the subject of strong pressure for several months from a dozen front groups, most of which presented themselves as vaping associations. So much so that Sharon Garin, rapporteur of this law before Parliament, took care to specify that she "does not understand the misinformation spread by some sectors, according to which this bill would have cancelled the ban on the use of flavors attractive to minors, as well as other restrictions of the law EO 106. This is fake news."[2] Ms Garin acknowledged a step backwards on the legal age of sale but said that the ban on flavourings and the spirit of the law, which aligns the regulation of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco with that of smoked tobacco, had been respected and strengthened.
Pressure from front groups
In the second half of 2021, several groups of vapers claiming to be independent had led an opinion and influence campaign to prevent the banning of most e-cigarette flavors. The main argument, identical to that put forward by the tobacco and vaping industry, was that a flavor ban would dissuade tobacco smokers from converting to e-cigarettes and would therefore potentially be responsible for thousands of deaths caused by smoking. This argument was for example put forward by Charles A. Gardner[3], CEO of the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations (INNCO), an organization funded by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (SFW), of which Mr. Gardner is a former director, the foundation itself being exclusively funded by Philip Morris International (PMI). However, INNCO had already been identified in 2020 for its lobbying actions with the Philippine authorities[4].
A law modulated by industrialists
The adopted law emphasizes the protection of minors, but leaves many doors open to manufacturers. Online sales of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco and advertising are thus authorized, provided that they are not aimed at minors. The lowering of the legal age from 21 to 18 is also an indication that parallel negotiations probably took place, which is confirmed by a statement by Nancy Loucas, coordinator of a coalition for the reduction of tobacco-related harms in Asia-Pacific (CAPHRA): "Consumer advocates in the Philippines have worked constructively with legislators and official interlocutors, pushing for the regulation of e-cigarettes as a consumer product and advocating for the purchase age to be set at 18."[5]These organisations also welcomed the reversal of the law on several points.
The fact that menthol escaped the blanket ban on flavours is also a sign that industry interference may have taken place, as menthol is known to enhance the addictive action of nicotine.[6]. The limitation of the nicotine threshold to 0.65 mg/ml at a level significantly higher than in the European Union or in Canada, which have set this limit at 20 mg/ml, is another illustration of this. In the latest ranking of Southeast Asian countries with regard to pressure from the tobacco and vaping industry, the Philippines was just behind Indonesia, which is heavily influenced by industrial lobbies.[7].
M.F.
[1] Philippines: Health warnings on heated tobacco and vaping products, Generation Without Tobacco, published on December 9, 2020, consulted on March 4, 2022. [2] Vape bill to strengthen flavor ban for e-cigarettes, Manila Bulletin, published March 3, 2022, accessed March 3, 2022. [3] INNCO Calls on National and Local Governments to Conduct Health Impact Studies Before Imposing E-cigarette 'Flavour' Prohibitions, Journal Online, published December 24, 2021, accessed March 3, 2022. [4] Philippines: Philip Morris Front Group Interferes in Anti-Smoking Campaign, Generation Without Tobacco, published on November 24, 2020, consulted on March 4, 2022. [5] Philippines Applauded For Progressive And Risk-Proportionate Vape Laws, Vaping Post, published January 19, 2022, accessed March 3, 2022 [6] Yerger VB, McCandless PM. Menthol sensory qualities and smoking topography: a review of tobacco industry documents, Tob Control. 2011 May;20 Suppl 2(Suppl_2):ii37-43. [7] Thailand, a good student in Southeast Asia in terms of banning tobacco advertising, Generation Without Tobacco, published on February 25, 2022, consulted on March 3, 2022. National Committee Against Smoking |
