ImagineLaw Executive Director lawyer Sophia San Luis said in a statement, the Vape Bill is anti-health and anti-youth, after this was lapsed into law on July 25.
“It dismantles existing measures that protect our health and protect our youth from lifelong addiction,” she said.
The law group said the Vape Bill will lower the age of access to e-cigarettes and vaping products from the current 21 years old to 18 years old. It will also allow online sales and transfer regulatory powers from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
“It is a de-regulation measure that will lead to a vaping epidemic among young people,” said San Luis. “The measure is against the overwhelming medical advice of medical associations and health experts,” she said.
The law group also expressed hope that the executive inaction that led to the Vape Bill lapsing into law does not mean that the President will neglect tobacco control in the country.
San Luis said during a global pandemic that attacks the lungs, building back better means protecting the country’s health through better public health policies.
"We hope that the President will ensure that the Vape Bill will be implemented with our health in mind, not the commercial interests of those that pushed for its passage,” she said.
She said ImagineLaw will continue working with other health advocates and the government to push for the strict implementation of the regulatory measures on sales and age restrictions of the Vape Bill and other tobacco control policies.
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