A local clinical study conducted by a scientific research group showing that vapes are less harmful than combusted cigarettes solidified its support to Republic Act No. 11900. or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act.
The Harm Reduction Alliance of the Philippines said it conducted the study to compare smoke-free products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products with conventional cigarettes that involve combustion.
“When we conducted the first local clinical study on vapor products, HARAP already found that they produce less heavy metals like lead and cadmium than cigarettes. HARAP has also participated in various international fora, where the consensus is that these smoke-free alternatives are better than combusted cigarettes,” said Dr. Ronald P. Cabral, co-convenor of HARAP.
HARAP, which has medical professionals and researchers as members, is among the first groups in the Philippines to conduct a scientific study on vaporized nicotine products and their impact on health of consumers.
The scientific group described the recently-enacted Vape Law as a major anti-smoking regulation that will provide Filipino smokers access to regulated less harmful alternatives.
“The Harm Reduction Alliance of the Philippines applauds the passage of the new ‘anti-smoking’ Vape Law. This development affirms the sound and real science behind tobacco harm reduction (THR) which countries like the UK, Japan and New Zealand have accepted and implemented,” said Prof. Ron Christian Sison, lead convenor of HARAP.
THR is a public health strategy that involves the use of less harmful alternatives to combusted cigarettes such as vapes and heated tobacco products to mitigate adult smokers’ exposure to tobacco smoke, which is the one that contains toxic substances. Experts said it is the smoke, and not nicotine, that causes diseases.
“THR encourages adults unable or does not want to quit smoking to switch to less harmful smoke-free alternatives,” said Sison.
Experts said that compared to cigarette smoking, vaporized nicotine products do not produce smoke and generate vapor by heating the e-liquid or tobacco.
Public Heath England, the highest health authority in the United Kingdom, found vapes to be at least 95-percent less harmful than traditional cigarettes. HARAP said its own studies also found that smoke-free alternatives produce less heavy metals.
The Department of Health identified the Philippines as one of 15 countries worldwide with a heavy burden of tobacco-related ill health. About 86,000 Filipinos reportedly die annually from more than 40 smoking-related diseases, including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and stroke, it said.