Philippine vapers warned of arrests after Duterte ban

MANILA - Philippine police were ordered on Wednesday to arrest anyone caught vaping in public, just hours after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced a ban on e-cigarettes.

The abrupt prohibition, revealed by Duterte on Tuesday, adds to a growing global backlash against a product once promoted as less harmful than tobacco smoking.

Duterte, a former smoker, called the devices "toxic" and said vaping introduced "chemicals" into the user's body.

He ordered the arrest of anyone vaping publicly in a country that already has some of Asia's toughest anti-smoking rules.

No formal written order has been made public that spells out the scope of the ban or penalties for violations.

Duterte is known internationally for his anti-narcotics crackdown, but he has also targeted tobacco with a wide-ranging ban on smoking in public.

Citing "the order of the president", a statement from the head of the Philippine police on Wednesday ordered "effective today, all police units nationwide to enforce the ban on use of vapes; ensure that all violators will be arrested".

The ban came days after Philippine health authorities reported the nation's first vaping-related lung injury, which resulted in a 16-year-old girl being hospitalized.

Vaping has taken off in the Philippines, with speciality shops and vapers puffing away in public a common sight.

E-cigarettes warm flavored nicotine liquid to produce vapor that is free of the estimated 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, but does contain substances that could potentially be harmful.

Critics say that apart from being harmful in themselves, the multiple exotic flavors of e-cigarette liquids appeal particularly to youngsters and risk getting them addicted to nicotine.

The devices have become hugely popular in the past decade but a rash of vaping-linked deaths and illnesses in the United States is feeding caution about the product, already banned in some places.

In September, India became the latest country to ban the import, sale, production and advertising of e-cigarettes, citing in particular concerns for its youth.

The devices are already banned in several places such as Brazil, Singapore, Thailand and the US state of Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, New York on Tuesday became the second US state this week to sue Juul Labs Inc, the largest e-cigarette manufacturer in the country, for illegally targeting minors with its marketing campaigns.

The lawsuits came as the vaping industry faces intense scrutiny over an epidemic of lung ailments linked to e-cigarette use that has killed more than 40 people and sickened more than 2,000 in recent months.

The New York action also came a day after California filed a similar lawsuit, accusing Juul of misleading consumers by misrepresenting its products as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes and of illegally selling to minors.

Agence France-Presse