THERE have been reports that the enrolled copy of the consolidated House Bill 9007 and Senate Bill 2239 or the Vaporized Nicotine Products Regulation Bill has only reached Malacañang just this June 24. Child rights advocates fear the President may not have enough time to veto the dangerous bill.
There is suspicion of an insidious scheme: that moneyed backers of this bill caused the belated transmittal of the ratified bill to the President to evade closer scrutiny from the outgoing administration; that there seems to be a deliberate effort to ensure that the ratified bill will only reach the President’s desk at the 11th hour, despite being ratified as early as January 2022.
Now, the President has two working days left before his term expires. Will he have time to decisively veto the bill and save generations of Filipino children from the perils of this proposed legislation? He is in a tough position, as he will not have enough time to study its provisions.
Anti-smoking advocates implore the President to listen to health experts, including the Department of Health, Education, and the Food and Drug Administration. Their position is clear: the Vape Bill should not be signed into law.
The Child Rights Network reiterated the dangers posed by the Vape Bill, calling it a “toxic legislation masquerading as a trade regulation bill.” Passing this bill into law will undoubtedly undermine the President’s vaunted legacy of fighting against dangerous drugs, illegal substances, and smoking. It will open the floodgates to a future where dangerous substances can easily reach the Filipino population, especially Filipino children, it warned.
Experts note that the Vape Bill essentially relaxes regulations on the sale, distribution, use, and promotion of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or e-cigarettes, and vaporized nicotine products (VNPs), giving the tobacco industry a free pass to reach even children.
Defenders of the bill parrot the tobacco industry’s line that the Vape Bill seeks to strengthen regulations to discourage minors from using cigarette alternatives. This is far from the truth. The consolidated bill lowers the minimum age of access to e-cigarettes from age 21 to 18, setting aside the proposal of several health experts to maintain 21 years old, which is the existing age restriction based on Republic Act 11467.
Despite putting several restrictions on flavor descriptors for ENDS and VNPs, the consolidated bill also gives a free pass on producers to use of addictive flavors that attract use among the younger generation, and even allows the online sale of e-cigarettes. It’s like saying you’ve done nothing wrong even if you put poison in a drink, but skip on labeling it as poison.
