A health group has slammed a pro-vaping group for urging the Department of Health (DoH) to endorse vaping as a safer alternative to cigarette smoking.
HealthJustice Philippines, a health group advocating for stricter tobacco control and taxes against tobacco products, criticized the appeal made by The Vapers Philippines, saying electronic cigarettes are not completely safe because of the toxic chemicals they emit.
“The tobacco industry, which has run out of sensible arguments in favor of smoking, is now trying to position vaping as a healthy substitute to smoking. That is a lie. There is no such thing as a healthy substitute to smoking,” said former Health Secretary Jaime Galvez Tan, a board member of HealthJustice Philippines.
“It would be the height of absurdity for the DoH as far as the national and international scientific and medical community is concerned, vaping or the use of electronic cigarettes is not completely safe because these still emit toxic chemicals,” Tan added.
Earlier, the Vapers Philippines called on to the DoH to endorse vaping as part of the government’s tobacco control program.
The group cited a report of the Health Improvement of Public Health England which claimed that vaping was 95 percent less harmful than cigarette smoking.
The same study recommended that e-cigarettes, alongside nicotine replacement therapies, be made available at hospital shops for smokers who want to quit.
The pro-vaping group appealed to the DoH to look into the report so that they could recommend e-cigarettes to smokers who want to quit.
The Philippine E-Liquid Manufacturers Association, on the other hand, said 17 million Filipinos could benefit from vaping. (Betheena Kae Unite)