Experts have been warning of a possible epidemic of EVALI, or electronic cigarette or vape-associated lung injury, in the Philippines, where the tobacco industry is targeting less discerning and curious young people.
The Global Youth Tobacco Survey in 2019 showed that 14 percent, or one in seven Filipinos aged 13 to 15 already smoke e-cigarettes, translating to almost a million young users nationwide. However, medical experts are concerned that the figure may have grown larger over the past five years, citing that the Expanded National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute in 2019 showed that 20 percent of vape users in the country was an adolescent.
“This alarming trend is not a coincidence but a result of the tobacco industry’s calculated marketing tactics targeting the youth,” said pulmonologist Dr. Maricar Limpin, Action on Smoking and Health Philippines executive director.
EVALI is a medical condition in which patients are clinically diagnosed with a respiratory illness or lung injury associated with using e-cigarettes or vaping products for as short as six months to two years. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fever, chills, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, rapid heart rate or chest pain.
The first case in the country was confirmed by the Department of Health in 2019, and based on reports from the Philippine College of Chest Physicians, there are currently seven cases nationwide, most only between 20 and 25 years old.
Some EVALI patients have developed symptoms similar to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is prevalent among adults 40 years old and older.
Health advocates are blaming Republic Act No. 11900, or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, for the surge of vape users nationwide, especially among the youth. They say the law made e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products more accessible to young people by lowering the age of access from 21 to 18 years old. It also transferred responsibility for regulating vaping products from the Food and Drugs Administration under the DOH, to the Department of Trade and Industry, making vaping a “business and profit issue, instead of a public health concern.”
Government shouldn’t wait for an EVALI epidemic to break out, and should act now to minimize the damage that e-cigarettes and vaping can bring upon the nation’s youth. Prioritizing public health over tobacco profits should be given serious consideration.*
