MANILA, Philippines — The report on the first case of electronic cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI) did not come as a surprise for health advocacy groups Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Philippines and the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA).
According to ASH executive director Maricar Limpin, “it is bound to happen in the light of what is happening in the United States” among countries where e-cigarettes are used.
Limpin said yesterday that the EVALI case proves that “e-cigarette is harmful and should either be banned or regulated.”
“We hope that this gives light to the court on the need to throw away the cases filed by the vaping industry against our Food and Drug Administration,” she noted.
Last week, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that the 16-year-old girl from Visayas was diagnosed with EVALI and confined in hospital for six days.
But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had ordered the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine to perform confirmatory tests on the respiratory secretion and blood samples that could have been collected from the girl to “confirm or rule out” her condition.
The girl began using electronic cigarettes containing flavored e-liquid daily last March for three to four months. After this period, she combined it with traditional cigarettes.
For Ulysses Dorotheo, executive director of SEATCA for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, there is a possibility that other EVALI cases “may have been gone unrecognized in the past.”
He added that this also means the lung injuries from vaping “are not isolated or exclusive to the US, especially as there have been isolated cases reported in Canada, Malaysia, Japan, and possibly in the United Kingdom.”
Adopt UK model
Meanwhile, Philippine lawmakers have proposed a harm reduction policy on tobacco regulation as global concern on e-cigarettes and vaping products increases.
Ranking members of the House of Representatives who attended the 7th annual E-Cigarette Summit in London pushed for the Philippines to adopt the United Kingdom model, which considers electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products as a method to mitigate or lower the risks among tobacco smokers.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers and Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor both believed that the UK policy is more suited to the Philippine context due to similarity in strong addition to tobacco by millions – instead of the DOH proposal for total ban on ENDS.
“I personally do not endorse e-cigs and the DOH is correct to say that ‘non smokers should not even try it.’ But let us not forget that a large population of our people are addicted to smoking and therefore we should look into global harm reduction strategies and implement it in our country,” Barbers explained in an interview after the summit.
The chair of House dangerous drugs committee cited several studies in the UK showing that ENDS products are “less harmful” than combustible cigarettes because they do not release smoke that include tar and other chemicals found to have caused lung and heart diseases among smokers.
“Let us not forget that introduction of e-cigarette may reduce harm brought about by smoking tobacco as manifested in several studies by reputable medical institutions,” he stressed.
Barbers said the UK model is one of the “best practices” in the world that the Philippines may follow.
Defensor agreed and attested to the effectiveness of ENDS in lowering health risks among smokers, citing himself as an example.
“I used to smoke regular cigarettes as did many people I know. I was able to transition to e-cig which I believe is safer for me and those who are affected by second-hand smoking. Tar and combustion are the culprits to lung disease and sickness,” he said. “We don’t need to reinvent because we can just follow the UK model in terms of e-cig policy and regulation.”
He also urged the DOH to “have a thorough study of the current Philippine situation,” citing lack of local research on the effect to smokers of transition to vaping.
Both lawmakers likewise agreed that banning ENDS altogether is not the proper solution.
“Banning will result in backlash and harsh economic implications, so it’s best to come up with strict regulation instead. We in Congress are studying carefully the policies that we should pass in all alternatives and (strategies) in harm reduction of smoking tobacco and its products,” Barbers said.
“Regulation of ENDS products should be carried out to do away with illegal and sub-standard commodities,” Defensoradded. – With Edu Punay