I’M now seeing a lot of young Filipinos who are vaping or using e-cigarettes instead of smoking tobacco.

Even the Department of Health has recorded a rise in the patronage of such alternative products, particularly among the youth.

Citing the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, the DOH said the prevalence of using electronic cigarettes is increasing among the Filipino youth.

Data showed a 110-percent increase in vape use in just four years — from 11.7 percent in 2015 to 24.6 percent in 2019.

This could have been bolstered by studies that show vapes and e-cigarettes as less harmful to people.

It’s a welcome development amid reports that the number of deaths worldwide from diseases caused by tobacco use is expected to double in the next eight years from the current level of more than 8 million people annually.

With the initiative of the World Health Organization, every year, February 9 is celebrated as World Smoking Boycott Day to raise awareness on the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use.

According to WHO data from 2021, around 1.3 billion people worldwide smoke, and this figure is expected to reach 1.7 billion in 2025.

While the average age for tobacco use is 46 and older, for men, it covers the 45-54 age group and for women 55-64.

Over 8 million people worldwide die every year from tobacco-related diseases such as lung cancer, vascular diseases, heart disease, and respiratory diseases.

More than a million of these deaths are due to exposure to cigarette smoke.

Half of the child population in the world is exposed to tobacco smoke, according to WHO estimates, and about 70,000 children die before the age of five due to respiratory tract infections as a result of passive exposure.

There are over a billion active smokers in the world, and more than 80 percent of them live in developing or underdeveloped countries.

Sadly, the Department of Health is disappointed over the recently approved Senate Bill 2239 (Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Regulation Act) that seeks to further expand access to what it calls vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products.

According to the DOH, the bill is retrogressive and contains several provisions that contradict public health goals and international standards and undermines the country’s progress in tobacco control, according to a DOH news release on Sunday.

On the contrary however, the largest umbrella organization of local businesses and industries threw its support for the enactment of the vape bill which it said will protect jobs and investment and save the lives of millions of Filipino smokers with the help of less harmful alternatives to cigarettes.

The Federation of Philippine Industries composed of 168 organizations and companies from various industries, in a letter addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte on January 31, 2022, said the vape bill will establish clear and effective regulations for less harmful alternatives to combusted cigarettes covering importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, promotion and consumption.

At the same time, the FPI said the enactment of the vape bill will “provide a sweet spot for achieving the government’s revenue and health objectives”, noting that the measure will save the lives of millions of Filipino smokers with the help of less harmful alternatives, while safeguarding local employment and investments.

Earlier. nineteen senators earlier approved the bill seeking to regulate the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use, and communication of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products.

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