On Monday, July 25th, Philippines enacted its Vape Bill into a law. The measure aims to regulate the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use, and communication of vapour and heated tobacco products. The enactment of this legislation makes the Philippines one of very few Asian countries with progressive vaping regulations intended to benefit adult smokers.

With this development, Philippines joins a group of nations like Thailand, Uruguay, Japan, United States and The United Kingdom adopting progressive regulations around tobacco harm reduction backed by scientific evidence. The most important aspect of the law is that it legitimizes vaping as a strategy to help smokers above the age of 18 years to choose less harmful non-combustible alternatives.

Liza Katsiashvili, community manager at World Vapers’ Alliance, said: “While most policymakers are misinformed and fight against vaping, the Philippines followed the right path to embrace vaping as an effective harm reduction innovation to save lives. Other countries should follow this example and endorse smart vaping policies to ensure improved public health for millions of consumers globally.”

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