LIKE DRUGS, VAPES are addictive and harmful to health. Still, the deceptive marketing of these products as harmless alternatives combined with weak government policy has created a problem worse than cigarette smoking.
No less than the World Health Organization (WHO) has spoken against the potential harms of vaping and the dangers posed by irresponsible marketing.
According to WHO, there are many types of e-cigarettes, with Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) being the most common.
However, some products claiming to be ENNDS have been found to contain nicotine.
WHO is clear: vapes contain nicotine, additives, flavors, and chemicals that can be harmful to people’s health.
YOUTH AS TARGET
WHO is also concerned that these products have been allowed on the open market as consumer goods and are aggressively marketed to young people.
“Some of these products use cartoon characters and have sleek designs, which appeal to the younger generation. Some look like toys and games. There is an alarming increase in the use of e-cigarettes among children and young people, with rates exceeding adult use in many countries.”
Latest data from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) shows that 14 percent of the youth or 1.21 million, use e-cigarettes, while only 2 percent, or 1.63 million, among adults use them.
RISING VAPE USERS
Meanwhile, the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey shows that one in every seven students aged 13 to 15 uses e-cigarettes. Globally, at least 15 million children aged 13 to 15 vape.
These statistics are no accident. Studies show that many vape companies intentionally target the youth through marketing.
“E-cigarette and HTP brand websites in the Philippines commonly employ marketing strategies directed at youth, including fruit flavors and the use of cartoon characters or other pop-culture references,” IGTC concluded.
Brands involved include JUUL, JVE, Kardinal Stick, Kokin, Mad Master, NIXX Global, RELX, Snowplus, Spade Vapes, VLADDIN, Yooz, Zalan, IQOS, MOK, and TEO/NEAFS.
BAD FOR THE BRAIN
Nicotine is highly addictive and harmful. Its consumption among children and adolescents can negatively affect brain development, leading to long-term consequences and increasing the risk of learning and anxiety disorders.
A non-smoker who uses ENDS may become addicted to nicotine and may also shift to conventional tobacco products.
Many e-cigarettes are also designed to allow users to control nicotine levels which can reach dangerously high concentrations.
This increases toxic exposure for users and also exposes bystanders to harmful emissions.
DAMAGING OUR LUNGS
There have been scientific studies which tend to show that what was previously promoted as a safe alternative to cigarettes is no more than a marketing hoax.
In the United States alone, evidence shows that ENDS use is associated with lung injuries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls this EVALI or E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury.
As of 2020, there have been 2,807 reported EVALI cases, including 68 deaths.
HEART ATTACK
In the Philippines, the first recorded EVALI-related death occurred in 2023 when a 22-year-old man with no prior health issues died of a heart attack.
Reports say he did not smoke cigarettes but was enticed to vape, which he used daily for two years.
“He had blocked lungs and a blocked heart. He died in spite of all the efforts made by the doctors at PGH. This is the first documented case,” said Dr. Rizalina Gonzalez.
MARKETING HOAX
Gonzalez believes the patient was “a victim of misinformation.”
Across all 15 brands included in the previous study, companies claimed that their products help people stop smoking, promoted harm-reduction messages, and portrayed themselves as responsible or capable of self-regulation.
Their marketing worked. Seventy percent of people who have heard of vapes think they are harmless.
Among users, 26 percent primarily vape “to cut down smoking”, 25 percent “to help quit smoking”, 12 percent “to use when smoking is not allowed”, and 12 percent because it is “less harmful to those around me”
LIFE-SAVING LAW?
One landmark law that enabled the widespread marketing and availability of vapes is Republic Act No. 11900, or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products (VNNP) Regulation Act, passed in 2023.
Marketed as a bill that would help smokers, its proponents “could not be more wrong,” according to health advocates.
Among those who pushed for the measure were Congressmen Alfredo Garbin Jr., Wes Gatchalian, Rodante Marcoleta, and Senator Ralph Recto, who touted its passage as a life-saving policy.
TAX OVER HEALTH
Since its passage, many have called for stricter regulations—if not an outright ban—but these calls have largely been ignored.
Vape products generated p1.5 billion in tax collections this year, a massive increase from P179 million the previous year.
TOTAL VAPE BAN
On Saturday, Department of Education Secretary Teodoro Herbosa discussed the growing vape addiction among youth.
“Eighteen years old and above ang pwedeng mag-vape, pero umikot ka, tingnan mo ’yung mga bata naka-high-school uniform, may vape implement sa leeg nila at makikita mong nagve-vape,” he said.
He also noted how vape companies target the youth.
“Kailangan striktuhan natin ’yung enforcement ng batas na pinasa natin, o baka mas madali mag-total ban na lang tayo para wala nang mabili itong mga kabataan,” he added.