Several studies have been made public since the start of the year indicating that “vaping” or the use of e-cigarettes, as a substitute for tobacco use, is not really a safe or healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes. Officially, to date, the Department of Health (DoH) does not consider e-cigarettes a “proven nicotine replacement therapy.”
Vaping or the use of e-cigarettes is currently defined in the DoH website as the use of a “plastic and metal device that heat(s) a liquid nicotine solution (e-juice) in a disposable cartridge. It creates a tiny light on the tip, even glows like a real cigarette, and produces a vapor that stimulates the act of smoking.”
Former Health secretary Jaime Galvez Tan, in a news report, cited a 2016 World Health Organization report on “Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems,” and he claimed that “vaping” still involved nicotine, which he described as a “tumor promoter”.
Even the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, a regional group advocating for the further regulation of tobacco use, was also quoted as saying that vaping “involves the inhalation of nicotine at the same levels as cigarettes and can maintain nicotine addiction.” Unsurprisingly, tobacco companies and e-cigarette makers and advocates contradict this.
Tan, now a board member of anti-tobacco advocate Health Justice Philippines, added that “there is no such thing as a healthy substitute to smoking,” and that “vaping or the use of electronic cigarettes is not completely safe because these still emit toxic chemicals.” This is another claim, I am certain, that disagrees with the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association (PECIA).
There have been many arguments for and against in the last few years, and at this point, more independent scientific studies and research papers published on the topic will help regulators and policy makers decide on the most suitable approach to regulating particularly vaping or the use of e-cigarettes.
Litter is a major problem when it comes to cigarettes, because of ash and cigarette butts. Many smokers end up littering as they mindlessly throw cigarette butts just anywhere. Even vaping has its refuse, particularly its disposable plastic cartridge. So, in this sense, even vaping generates garbage.
Also, a lot of people vape in places where smoking is prohibited, perhaps in the mistaken belief that what they do is not “smoking” in the strictest sense. In my opinion, however, anything that emits some form of “smoke” or “vapor” into the atmosphere, which may be to the detriment of other people’s health, should be controlled or regulated.
Vaping still uses nicotine, and releases smoke or vapor into the atmosphere — the public space. I am uncertain about this, but those inhaling the smoke or vapor may still be subject to second-hand smoke or passive smoking. Unless there are definitive studies scientifically proving that such vapors do not harm other people, then vaping should be regulated like cigarettes.
A blog by US physician John Ross published in 2016 in the “Harvard Health Publishing” website of the Harvard Medical School noted that “nicotine in e-cigarettes may have several negative health effects” including “insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes,” while “inhaled nicotine increases heart rate and blood pressure.”
He added that “nicotine is highly addictive in its own right, and it may lead to changes in the brain that increase the risk of addiction to other drugs, especially in young people. Nicotine may also impair prefrontal brain development in adolescents, leading to attention deficit disorder and poor impulse control. These potential harms of nicotine are particularly worrisome in view of soaring rates of e-cigarette use in US teenagers.”
He also said that “nicotine in e-liquid may also be a household hazard. Many e-liquids have candy and fruit flavoring and packaging that makes them attractive to children. Cases of nicotine poisoning from e-liquid have skyrocketed, with accidental ingestions of e-liquid by kids rising by 1,500% in the past three years.”
The physician likewise noted that flavored e-cigarettes often contain a chemical compound called diacetyl, which is associated with a rare lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans that causes permanent damage to the bronchioles (the tiniest airways in the lungs). He added that propylene glycol and glycerol, the major components of e-liquids, can also decompose when heated by the vaporizer, and be transformed into toxic compounds such as formaldehyde.
Personally, I think vaping should be regulated, and taxed, just like cigarettes and other tobacco products. And, in the next round of the tax reform program, both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes should be taxed even more. I used to smoke but stopped 10 years ago. So, I don’t question people’s personal right to smoke or vape. However, I do believe in stronger regulation in the sale and use of what is obviously a consumer product with significant negative effects.
Sale or distribution should require government licenses, both national and local. Excise taxes should be imposed by the national government. Locally, establishments like shopping malls and restaurants and bars should be made to apply and pay for local permits to build or put up designated “smoking lounges” to accommodate their smoking or vaping customers.
In the same way that establishments must pay for permits to sell liquor, and separate permits to “serve” liquor, the same should apply to smoking and vaping. Stores should be licensed to sell and distribute vaping equipment and liquids. Manufacturers or importers of vaping cartridges should pay excise taxes, much like producers of sweetened beverages. And places allowing smoking or vaping should pay for permits to put up smoking lounges.
Smoking or vaping should be freely permitted in private residences, but must be limited to designated, licensed lounges in public facilities and spaces, private and public offices, private commercial buildings, and tourism facilities like hotels and resorts. Smoking or vaping should also be prohibited in public and private transportation. If we can ban cellphone use by motorists while operating motor vehicles, because it is a distraction, then the same should apply to smoking or vaping. They are obvious distractions, too.
 
Marvin A. Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.
matort@yahoo.com