The bicameral conference committee’s report on consolidated House Bill 9007 and Senate Bill 2239, also known as the Vape Bill, will ban the sale of e-cigarettes with flavor descriptors that appeal to the youth.

“With the passage of the Vape Bill, we are solidifying the provisions of RA 11467 and Executive Order 106 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte and in particular banning the sale of e-cigarettes with flavors other than menthol and tobacco. Under the Vape Bill, we added another ban, which is prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes with flavor descriptors that appeal to the youth. This is in addition to the flavor ban that exists today”, she said.

Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Estrellita Suansing, a long-time health advocate and one of the authors of the Vape bill in the House of Representatives, said lawmakers are cognizant of the concerns related to flavors when they drafted the bill.

Back in February 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order 106 to provide regulation for vapor products including banning the sale of e-cigarattes that uses flavors that are appealing to the youth. Most of the provisions of the said order were patterned with the regulation for cigarette products.

“We need a comprehensive and special law to regulate vapor products similar to the ones we have for cigarette products. We made sure that every aspect of regulation for these products were included in the bill including the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution, use and advertising. We did not leave any stone unturned and even included the provisions under EO 106 issued by the President. More importantly, we made sure that this bill has teeth for enforcement by including severe penalties for violators thereof – something that we don’t have at present under RA 11467 and EO 106”, Rep. Garin further noted. w Once enacted, the Vape Bill will consolidate and further solidify the provisions of RA 11467 and EO 106 to provide more teeth to these existing rules. Aside from banning the sale of high nicotine e-cigarettes (above 65mg/ml), the Vape Bill further expands the restrictions under EO 106 by prohibiting the use of vapor products in churches and government buildings. It also bans the use of advertising materials that are attractive to minors.