Good news from the Philippines, the local government has passed a resolution to “use disposable e-cigarettes as harm reduction aids”! The Philippine House of Representatives urged the inclusion of single-use e-cigarettes in the country’s tobacco control strategy, and the legislature issued a resolution asking the health department to promote tobacco harm reduction.
The decision, written by Reps. Anthony Bravo and Jose Tejada, specifically cited a landmark report by Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians as an argument. Because single-use e-cigarettes have achieved great success as a smoking cessation aid in the UK, and a prestigious report from Public Health England (PHE) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) states that single-use e-cigarettes are at least 95% safer than traditional cigarettes %”
Earlier, government officials attended the Philippine Tobacco Harm Reduction Conference, organized by advocacy group The Vapers Philippines. Other experts such as Greek cardiologist Farsalinos have spoken of the benefits of low-risk nicotine products as an alternative to combustible cigarettes. Farsalinos also urged the Philippine government to adopt different policies on single-use e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes, and clarify the risk differences between the use of single-use e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes.
According to a 2015 Philippine National Tobacco Use Survey, 33.8% of adults in the Philippines smoke. Since then, President Duterte of the Philippines has instituted strong tobacco control measures, including the risk of going to prison if cigarettes are sold to minors.
Few expected that under President Duterte, the nation’s legislature would advocate for e-cigarettes as an adjunct to tobacco harm reduction. Because Duterte is known for approving the brutal treatment of drug addicts, including murder. During Duterte’s presidential campaign, he pledged to get rid of 100,000 drug addicts and traffickers and dump their bodies in Manila Bay.
PeterPaul Dator, president of the Philippine Electronic Cigarette Enthusiasts Organization, said, “We are grateful to the lawmakers for seeing the evidence that disposable electronic cigarettes are much less harmful than traditional cigarettes” and willing to believe them. We hope that the Ministry of Health can also see this as soon as possible. A little, because it could help save more lives. ”
Now more and more countries have changed their attitudes towards disposable e-cigarettes, gradually realizing that disposable e-cigarettes can help reduce the harm of traditional tobacco, and we are very happy to see this situation. Hundreds of thousands of people die from smoking-related diseases every year around the world. How to reduce the harm of tobacco is an urgent problem that every country needs to solve. This resolution in the Philippines also proves that more and more people are beginning to recognize electronic cigarettes.