Asia Harm Reduction Forum lauds Filipino lawmakers for vape bill passage

MANILA, Philippines – The Asia Harm Reduction Forum expressed delight with the passage of the bill seeking to regulate vaporized nicotine products, spreading its advocacy on how to promote a healthier lifestyle with the signing of “The Manila Declaration 2022.”

A few months after the “Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act” — also known as the “Vape Bill” — lapsed into law, health experts have begun pushing for harm reduction alternatives.

And Philippine representative to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) Clarisse Virgino expressed their all-out support to Filipino lawmakers for making their harm reduction advocacy into reality through legislation.

“The Vape Law introduces new possibilities for harm reduction alternatives in the country. It is just the first step towards a healthier and safer environment for all,” Virgino said during the fifth annual congregation organized by the Asia Harm Reduction Forum last October 28 at the Manila Hotel.

“We hope that our legislators continue to pursue different aspects of harm reduction in its constitutional mandate to protect the welfare of its citizens,” she added.

Proving to be at the forefront of the harm reduction industry, the Philippines continues to prove its belief in the advocacy and would only seek further measures to enhance its promotion, according to the Asia Harm Reduction Forum.

The non-profit and interdisciplinary organization — which aims to empower and enjoin individuals, communities, and the government to make informed health-related decisions — has provided an updated outlook on the situation of different harm reduction advocacies.

Health experts from different fields — policy-making, science, business and education— have already informed the general public about the benefits of sustaining harm reduction practices during that forum.

Industry leaders present and authored of The Manila Declaration 2022 have called on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s signatories and delegates of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to follow the science and evidence around tobacco harm reduction and impede the promotion of tobacco use whilst encouraging alternatives such as safer nicotine products.

It’s just one year until the WHO’s 10th FCTC Conference of Parties (COP10) in Panama. The key global meeting will see delegates discuss and make recommendations on safer nicotine products.

Providing an avenue of discussion, accessibility to information and forward-thinking legislation, the Philippines continues to lead the charge in tobacco harm reduction around its Asian neighbors.

Among the most ardent discussions during the Asia Harm Reduction Forum 2022 was the passage of the Vape Bill or Republic Act No. 1190, its succeeding implementation on a national level and the resulting effects on the country’s vape consumers.

Gracing the event through his keynote address, Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, one of the principal authors of the Vape Bill stated: “The best way to implement a harm reduction approach is to pass a law that will make this a state policy.” 

The Manila Declaration was signed and released after the Fifth Asia Harm Reduction Forum (AHRF 2022) on 28 October in the Philippines. View it here.

Access to the live stream of the Asia Harm Reduction Forum is now available on this AHRF 2022 YouTube video.