Eleven former officials of the Department of Health and the Department of Education called on the Philippine delegation to the upcoming 10th session of the Conference of the Parties of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to stand against e-cigarettes or vapes for the sake of the youth.

This comes after the alarming increase in vape use among Filipino children and young people.

"We call on the Philippine delegation to COP10 of the WHO FCTC in Panama to affirm our commitments under the F CTC, and take the lead in pushing for, supporting, and promoting policies preventing the uptake of all recreational tobacco and nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, to protect present and future generations from the devastating harms of tobacco use and nicotine addiction," the joint statement read.

Former DoH officials namely, Dr. Jaime Tan (DoH Secretary, 1995), Dr. Carmencita Reodica (DoH Secretary, 1996-1998), Dr. Manuel Dayrit (DoH Secretary, 2001-2005), Dr. Esperanza Cabral (DSWD Secretary 2005-2009 and DoH Secretary 2010), Dr. Paulyn Rosell Ubial (DoH Secretary, 2016-2017), Atty. Alexander Padilla (DoH Undersecretary, 2001-2009), Dr. Susan Mercado (DoH Undersecretary, 1998-2001), Dr. Madeleine Valera (DoH Undersecretary, 2012-2013); and former Education Department officials, Bro. Armin Luistro (DepEd Secretary, 2010-2016), and Atty. Alberto Muyot (DepEd Undersecretary, 2010-2016) made the urgent appeal as the Philippine delegation participate in the COP10 in Panama.

They emphasized that they have, in the past, warned of the repercussions of watered-down provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 11900 or the Vape Regulation Law such as lowering the age of access from 21 to 18 years old.

As well as delegating regulation to the Department of Trade and Industry rather than the Food and Drug Administration; and easing restrictions for vape flavors.

Citing a study released by John Hopkins Institute for Global Tobacco Control, the officials noted that vapes and flagrantly and widely sold and advertised within 100 meters in 78% of schools in the Philippines, despite the prohibition in RA 11900.

Meanwhile, the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey showed a growing use of vapes among Filipino teens with a 14.1% prevalence of vape use among ages 13 to 15 (20.9 percent boys and 7.5 percent girls).

"Transparency and accountability of its policy positions at COP10 should be observed as these will impact domestic and global approaches in tobacco control," the statement also read.

"The delegation should speak rather than hide, whitewash, or disguise the truth of the serious threat to public health brought about by weak Philippine regulation on e-cigarettes," it further read.

The DoH maintained that vapes are not a safer option as it likewise expressed alarm that more and more young people are using vapes/

"Ang panawagan ng ating ahensya, ng ating kalihim na si Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, ay talagang itong vape ay hindi kaaya-aya yan. The way that it is being marketed, parang pinapalabas na ito ay safer, ito ay better (The call of our agency, of our Secretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, is to say that vapes are not really pleasant. The way that they are being marketed, they make it seem that they are safer, better)," DoH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said.

"May mga tanong kasi na hindi naman talaga kasi ito yung ebidensya na nakikita namin sa Department of Health. Maaaring ito ay ginagamit ng mga matatatanda pero ang nakakabahala talaga is dumadami yung mga bata na gumagamit (There are questions because this is not really the evidence that we see at the Department of Health. It may be used by the elderly, but what is really worrying is that the number of children using it is increasing)," Domingo added.

The COP10 will be held on Feb. 5 to 10 in Panama.

The COP is composed of signatories to the FCTC and convenes every two years to discuss international tobacco control policies, including regulations on e-cigarettes or vapes, and how these can be implemented at the national level.