Ex-DTI chief cites benefits of vape law

MANILA, Philippines — Former trade secretary Ramon Lopez yesterday cited benefits of the measure seeking to regulate vaporized nicotine products or vape, which has lapsed into law.

He also emphasized that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is capable in terms of regulation of product standards, amid concerns being raised by those who oppose the measure.

Lopez said in a Viber message that the agency under his term supported the Vape Bill as it allows the government to regulate the use and sale of vape products in terms of standards and labeling. The bill also restricts vaping only in designated areas, prohibits selling to minors and penalizes violators.?He noted that based on studies, vaping is the best alternative to quitting smoking as it allows the shift to significantly less harmful products. He also cited the benefits in terms of livelihood to over two million people in the tobacco industry, as well as to the government in terms of tax revenues, if and when fully regulated.?On the concerns raised on the DTI being the agency having the power to regulate vape products under the measure, he said the agency has the capability to regulate standards.?“The DTI Bureau of Philippine Standards has been regulating standard compliance (both physical and chemical structures) of 87 products for over 30 years,” he said, noting that vape would just be added to products currently covered, including cement, steel and appliances.?He said the DTI would also be working with the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health in ensuring proper regulation, especially on labeling and claims, balanced with industry development.?“It is not a choice between public health and tobacco industry interests. It’s a choice of having a regulated vape and e-cig industry and helping smokers drastically reduce harm to smokers or status quo (that doesn’t solve the smoking problem for decades),” he said.

Meanwhile, the proponents and authors of the Vape Bill have reassured the government that this will generate much-needed billions that can fund the Marcos administration’s social welfare and health programs.

As far as former House deputy speaker Wes Gatchalian (Valenzuela) is concerned, the lapsing into law last July 25 of the vaporized nicotine products (VNP) bill will “provide much-needed economic boost for small businesses and the government.”

“The bill enacts crucial regulations that will prioritize legitimate businesses, safeguard consumers and potentially generate billions in revenues for the government,” said Gatchalian, who had co-sponsored the measure. He is now the mayor of Valenzuela City.

He estimated that the government raked in about P15.3 billion in vape taxes since 2019.

“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,” he pointed out.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee, agreed: “Logically, a wider range of available vape flavors should also mean higher consumption volumes and therefore higher tax revenues from these products.”

“The committee on ways and means will watch out for the implementation of the sections which effectively amended the Tax Code, particularly on vape flavors,” he said. “So, we will use our oversight powers to see whether that happens.”

Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto – who sponsored the bill when he was still Senate President Pro Tempore in the previous 18th Congress – said it is “good public policy” to shift to vaporized nicotine products.

“There will be less death and less expense on the part of society in treating patients. And that is the direction where many countries, more developed economies, are moving toward,” the now Batangas congressman said during the Senate debates.

Rep. Rodante Marcoleta of Sagip party-list, who was also one of the measure’s primary authors in the House, said the bill is a “gift to the Filipino people towards better health and well-being.”

“With this law, we have a very good chance to eradicate once and for all the smoking epidemic, which kills almost 100,000 Filipino smokers every year. It will be just a matter of time before we see our country’s smoking rate go down,” he said.

Former congressman Alfredo Garbin Jr. of Ako Bicol party-list, for his part, said the new Vape Law would save the lives of all smokers, including young adults: “We care for all smokers’ lives.”

“The law equalizes the minimum age of access to cigarettes and vapes to ensure that all adult smokers are provided with better alternatives,” Garbin said. –  Delon Porcalla