EO banning use, importation of vapes not needed — Duterte

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech during the inauguration of the 105-Megawatt Coal-Fired Power Plant Phase 2 of Sarangani Energy Corporation and the launch of the 14.5-Megawatt Hydropower Project of Siguil Hydro Power Corporation in Maasim, Sarangani Province on November 22, 2019. JOEY DALUMPINES/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Issuing an executive order (EO) to ban the use and importation of electronic cigarettes in the country is unnecessary, the country’s Chief Executive said on Friday, November 22.

“I do not have to issue an executive order. Paka-b*b* naman itong mga g*g* na ito na meron ng law about nicotine (They are so stupid [because] there is already a law on nicotine),” President Rodrigo Duterte said in his speech in Maasim, Sarangani Province.

“If you use vaping in public, there is nicotine. And so without the other chemical combustion there, you are already violating the law in vaping because it contains nicotine,” he continued.

The President said this after the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) President Domingo Cayosa said in an interview with CNN Philippines that anyone “who feels aggrieved” by Duterte’s verbal order can challenge it in the court.

Responding to this, Duterte, a former prosecutor, said people should not listen to the IBP.

“Kung hindi ba tanga ‘yang mga buang, p***** i**** ‘yan (Those crazy people are idiots. Motherf*cker),” he said.

“You know, nicotine is prohibited. You cannot use nicotine here. I will arrest you. There‟s a law. It’s based on the national law and the pollution and everything. It’s deleterious to the health. It’s a hazard to health,” he added but did not point out which law he was referring to.

Duterte cited the Republic Act (RA) No. 7394 or the Consumers’ Protection Act as he explained why he ordered the confiscation of vaping devices.

“If the thing that we are importing is prohibited by the place where it was made, then automatically, it is also not good [in the Philippines] and it is should be by operation of common sense,” the President stressed.

“If it is bawal sa (prohibited in) Vermont, that’s in California, the Consumers Protection Law says that if a thing is not legal there, where it was made or manufactured, then it cannot be legal here,” he continued.

Duterte’s order after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the first case of e-cigarette or vape-associated lung injury (Evali) case in the Philippines of a 16-year-old girl from Visayas who had been using e-cigarettes for six months while also smoking regular cigarettes.

Following the Chief Executive’s verbal directive, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has begun its nationwide crackdown on the use of vapes.