CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Pampanga 1st District Representative Joseller "Yeng" Guiao has expressed support for moves to regulate the sale, marketing and promotion of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) saying these products pose danger not only to public health but to the youth.
Guiao, a professional basketball coach who seeks to champion youth and sports advocacy in the 16th Congress, laments that while Republic Act (RA) No. 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act clearly specifies prohibited acts for tobacco products, no clear regulation is in effect for e-cigarettes which are now becoming popular especially among the young.
The congressman noted that no less than the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued warnings about the illusive safety that these products have on consumers who may be enticed based on the mistaken belief that such products are safer because there is no "smoke" as a result of the combustion of tobacco.
E-cigarettes or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are devices that vaporize and deliver to the lungs of the user a chemical mixture typically composed of nicotine, propylene glycol and other chemicals.
Each device contains an electronic vaporization system, rechargeable batteries, electronic controls and cartridges of the liquid that is vaporized. According to the WHO, a number of ENDS are even flavored making them more attractive to adolescents.
"Ang mas nakakabahala ay hindi natin talagang alam kung anu-anong mga kemikal ang nasa loob ng mga kapsulang ginagamit sa e-cigarettes," Guiao said.
A check with the WHO website also revealed that most ENDS contain large concentrations of propylene glycol, which is a known irritant when inhaled. The testing of some of these products also suggests the presence of other toxic chemicals, aside from nicotine.
Over the weekend, the Philippine Medical Association has called on President Benigno Aquino III to ban the sale of e-cigarettes because of its harmful effects. The group added that e-cigarettes, rather than helping people quit smoking, even introduces an "alternative vice" that may be accessed by children.
Even the Metro Manila Development Authority is now thinking of including e-cigarettes in its anti-smoking drive, a move Guiao is also supporting.
The Pampanga congressman said that if an outright ban is not feasible, he is looking at possible amendments to the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 that will add e-cigarettes to the smoking and advertising ban.
Such move will be similar to the California Senate Bill 648 which already passed the California Senate early this year and France's move to ban e-cigarette smoking in public, and to black it out in media advertising.
Guiao, meanwhile, urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Center for Device Regulation, Radiation Health, and Research to study the possibility of regulating e-cigarettes as a health-related device.
RA 9711, which created the FDA, allows the agency "to regulate health related devices defined as any device not used in health care but has been determined by the FDA to adversely affect the health of the people."
"I understand that regulation can also be done at the level of the FDA and it may be faster than legislation. My fear is that if we don't do something about it, we might see an e-smoking epidemic among adolescents," concluded Guiao.