Experts urge Philippine President to Sign E-Cigarette Bill into Law

A group of medical and scientific experts recently wrote to President Rodrigo Duterte, urging him to sign the pending Electronic Cigarette Bill into law.

On July 8, a group of scholars, healthcare professionals, and researchers, including Dr. Jose Dante Dator, former director of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute; Dr. Rafael Castillo, former president of the Philippine Heart Association and the Asia-Pacific Society of Hypertension; Dr. Arleen Reyes, former president of the Philippine Dental Association; Dr. Romeo Luna, president of the San Juan Medical Center Employees Association; Dr. Telesforo Gana, former president of the Philippine Urological Association; Dr. Fernando Fernandez, former dean of the College of Dentistry at the Philippine Academy of Maxillofacial Surgeons; Howard Enriquez, former president of the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery; and Dr. Alvin Laxamana, former president of the Philippine Dental Association, signed a letter to Marcos via his executive secretary Victor Rodriguez.

An advocacy group is calling for the enactment of the "E-Cigarette Bill" to provide comprehensive regulation of safer nicotine alternatives such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. They argue that ultimately, e-cigarettes can help smokers quit and reduce the number of deaths and illnesses caused by smoking. "If this bill becomes law, it presents a tremendous opportunity that we cannot afford to miss, as it has the potential to improve the quality of life for smokers and improve long-term outcomes," they said.

Similarly, a recent survey conducted by the Asia Research Network in the Philippines found that 90% of local smokers would support a public health strategy that advocates for the use of safer nicotine alternatives, such as electronic cigarettes, for smoking cessation.

Automatically becomes a law.

The bill is the coordinated version of Senate Bill 2239, also known as the "Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems Regulation Act." The aim of the bill is to regulate the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use, and consumption of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) using internationally recognized standards, in order to protect citizens from harm caused by unregulated and substandard products. The bill also aligns with House Bill 9007, also known as the "Regulating Non-Combustible Nicotine Delivery Systems Act.

The bill was approved on June 24 by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The president has 30 days to either sign the bill into law or veto it. However, when neither of them took any action, the bill automatically became law on July 25.

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