A THR ‘backwater’

Vaping groups in the Philippines are calling for the adoption there of the UK’s approach to tackling tobacco use, according to a story at businessmirror.com.ph.

The groups referred to a recent UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report, E-cigarettes, that said these products were estimated to be 95 percent less harmful than conventional cigarettes.

The report recommended in part that: ‘Regulations should be relaxed relating to e-cigarettes’ licensing, prescribing and advertising of their health benefits’. ‘Their level of taxation and use in public places must be reconsidered,’ the report said.

“E-cigarettes are helping many people in the UK quit smoking,” said Peter Paul Dator, president of The Vapers Philippines. “The government should seriously consider the UK tobacco control model in order to reduce the harms caused by conventional cigarettes to Filipino smokers.”

Meanwhile, Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association president Joey Dulay said that the Philippines would remain a backwater in tobacco harm mitigation if the Department of Health continued its ill-informed and myopic position on e-cigarettes.

“It’s high time that the Department of Health take its cue from the UK and other countries that have acknowledged the growing body of scientific evidence supporting e-cigarettes and tobacco harm reduction,” he said during a forum held in Quezon City last week.