MANILA, (PIA) -- The Child Rights Network (CRN) once again urges legislators and government officials to prioritize the protection of children in the regulation of these products. This is in response to the eighth report on the global tobacco epidemic released by the World Health Organization (WHO) that stresses the dangers of using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or e-cigarettes, especially among children and youth.  

“The report confirms and provides further evidence of what our own medical experts and advocates have been telling our legislators: these products are harmful and must be heavily regulated to protect our children and prevent them from a lifetime of nicotine addiction,” said Romeo Dongeto, executive director of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), the convenor of the Child Rights Network.   

According to the report, children and adolescents who use e-cigarettes can double their risk of smoking cigarettes. They are addictive, not harmless, and should be strictly regulated for maximum protection of public health. The report stresses that although there is progress in tobacco control in many countries, there is an urgent need to regulate and address concerns with emerging nicotine and tobacco products. Published this week, the report includes for the first time data on electronic nicotine delivery systems, or e-cigarettes, in recognition of the growing concerns on the harms of these products, particularly for children and adolescents.

E-cigarette use among Filipino children and youth 

Many marketing schemes have emerged to entice the youth into consuming tobacco and/or nicotine under the pretense of being a trend.  

According to the 2020 Nationwide Online Survey on Determinants of E-cigarette Use conducted by the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) and the Department of Education (DepEd), 6.7% of public-school students in grades 7 to 9 have tried or are using e-cigarettes and were initiated into it between ages 10-15.  

According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), 42.7% of students in the Philippines know about electronic cigarettes and 11.7% of them have ventured into using these devices.  

One in every five vapers in the country is an adolescent, according to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute in 2019. 

“That these products come in a wide array of flavors downplays the fact that they are health hazards. And in this misplaced appeal is where the danger lies” said Dr. Rizalina Gonzalez, Chair of the Philippine Pediatric Society Tobacco Control Advocacy Group. 

“The newly released 2021 WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic is a great move towards protecting the most vulnerable, our children, and their environment. The health harms caused by these products are now known in their almost two decades of existence. The younger generation, our adolescents who use ENDS, can double their risk of smoking cigarettes. Strictly regulate these products using the WHO FCTC MPOWER strategy!” added Gonzalez when asked for her reaction on the WHO report.  

Gonzalez is among the medical experts who have served as resource person and warned legislators on the dangers of e-cigarettes during the technical working group and committee meetings conducted by both houses of Congress on the bills seeking to regulate these products. The MPOWER framework of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control suggests a set of measures and interventions that countries can adopt to reduce the demand for tobacco.  

Regulation of e-cigarettes, the battle for health over profit  

“Where they are not banned, governments should adopt appropriate policies to protect their populations from the harms of electronic nicotine delivery systems, and to prevent their uptake by children, adolescents and other vulnerable groups,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

In the country, a regulatory framework for these products was introduced in 2019 with the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 11467, which increased taxes on ENDS and heated tobacco products (HTPs) and alcoholic beverages, prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to young people below 21 years old, bans the use of flavors, and places the regulation of the products under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These were further strengthened when President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order 106 in 2020. EO 106 prohibits the manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and sale of unregistered and/or unadulterated ENDS and HTPs. 

Public health and child rights advocates, who believe that RA 11467 and EO 106 provide adequate safeguards for health and the protection of young people, have been fervently monitoring legislative measures in the 18th Congress to ensure that the strict regulatory measures are preserved. 

The advocates, including the CRN, cried foul over the approval of House Bill 9007 on Third and final Reading in May of this year. HB 9007 reverses the current regulatory framework introduced by Republic Act (RA) 11467 and EO 106. It lowers the minimum age for use and sale of these products from 21 to 18, moves the regulatory authority from the FDA to the Department of Trade and Industry, and removes the ban of flavors. The bill also allows online advertisement and sale of the products.    

“The approval was a great disservice to all Filipinos, particularly to the children. We have been pleading to our legislators not to dilute the safeguards that are already in existing laws and regulations, but it seems that health has taken a backseat to profit. Legislators favored the industry,” lamented Dongeto. 

Thirty-four members of the House of Representatives voted against the bill, citing serious concerns about the dangers that the proposed law poses. Seven legislators who voted against the measure stood up to explain their vote, expressing their sentiments that the bill paves the way for nicotine addiction among children and youth as well as their disappointment that the bill has become a trade and industrial policy rather than being a health measure.  

The battle is not yet over  

The counterpart bill in the Senate, Senate Bill No. (SBN) 2239 sponsored by Senator Ralph Rector, is now under the Period of Interpellation. SBN 2239 is almost identical with HB 9077, particularly in terms of lowering the age restriction from 21 to 18 and in the assigning of the DTI instead of FDA as the regulatory body.   

Advocates, however, claim that the battle is far from over.  

“There is a version of the bill that was filed by Senator Pia Cayetano. Her bill adheres to the regulation set by RA 11467, which she also championed earlier on in the 18th Congress. We hope that the Senate will adopt her bill as the template and ultimately prioritize public health and the protection of our children, especially now that we are living amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and under a serious health crisis,” added Dongeto. (PIA-NCR)