E-cigarettes in Philippines

Philippines: The Bureau of Internal Revenue has updated price controls on vaping products. Nicotine salts have a floor price of PHP200 ($3.58) for a 2 ml pod and PHP354.97 ($6.37) for a 4 ml pod. Nicotine e-liquid has a price floor of PHP179.20 ($3.21) for a 10 ml bottle and PHP403.20 ($7.23) for a 30 ml bottle. The prices take into account excise duty, VAT and reasonable production costs.

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry’s Consumer Protection Group has warned all e-commerce platforms to comply with vaping and heated tobacco regulation, or risk facing intensified monitoring and enforcement. It follows an increase in the number of online retailers found to be selling non-compliant products, such as products without the required health warnings or with flavour descriptors.

Philippines: The Department of Health and Industry announced today that it was stepping up enforcement of regulations governing vaping, heated tobacco and other novel tobacco products. The department has issued violation notices to establishments selling non-compliant products with illegal markings or characters such as cartoons and youth influencers, and names suggesting flavours. Press reports that the agency confiscated over PHP860,000 ($15,600) worth of e-cigarettes and novel tobacco products.

Philippines: In a speech to the Senate yesterday, senator Pia Cayetano of the conservative Nacionalista Party expressed alarm about “vape flavours and designs, which are...very attractive to our youth”. Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri said the Senate would pass a resolution calling on the Department of Trade and Industry to enforce the law.