Youth groups call for absolute vape ban in PH

Public health advocacy group, HealthJustice Philippines, reiterated its demand for a comprehensive vape ban in the Philippines alongside collective youth voices expressing full support for a policy to eliminate vapes in the country in conjunction with World Health Day. 

“We applaud our young generation of leaders for standing united to urgently call for an end to the vapedemic plaguing our Filipino youth. We cannot afford to treat this as a low-priority issue. Our government leaders should act fast because vapes should have no place in our country,” said Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, former Health Secretary and Board Member of HealthJustice.

Galvez Tan emphasized, “An absolute ban puts an end to the cycle of misinformation about vapes, and prevents any further threat to the health of young Filipinos.” 

In an open letter to the Philippine government signed by more than 60 youth groups and health advocates from around the world, Global Youth Voices strongly backed the Department of Health’s declaration to totally ban vapes and encouraged the Philippines to catch up with its ASEAN neighbors. 

Rizza Duro, national coordinator of the Philippine Smoke-Free Movement Youth, a part of Global Youth Voices, said “The Philippine’s Health Secretary has made his pronouncement calling for a total vape ban. Lawmakers should take this as a strong signal to follow through with a policy that will prevent any more devastating damage to the health of young people caused by vaping. This offers the Philippines a chance to adopt a bold measure, similar to those implemented by other countries in the ASEAN region.”

They called on policymakers to protect the youth against the health harms brought by vapes by adopting measures that:

• Prevent the expansion of and prohibit novel nicotine products that risk creating a new generation of nicotine users.

• Safeguard health policymaking from tobacco industry interference, consistent with Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
• Uphold the government’s responsibility to protect youth health and future generations.

“Decisions taken today will shape the health environment that young people inherit tomorrow. We hope the Philippine government will act fast to protect public health and safeguard future generations,” the open letter concluded.

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Contact person/s:

Mariz Amante Wee

Communications Officer, HealthJustice

+63998-885-1080 / +974-669-86655 | mariz@healthjustice.ph

Anelle Cortez

Project Coordinator, HealthJustice

+639178139696 | anelledc@healthjustice.ph