AS early as 2017, researchers identified over fifteen thousand vape flavors all over the world.
Seven years later, how many more flavors could have been added to this list?!
Here in this vape shop in Manila, they offer up to seven flavors.
Companies intentionally increase the variety of e-cigarette or vape flavors to attract more patrons or customers.
In this vape shop, we met Ian, a 25-year-old vape user.
He said that he switched from cigarette to vape because he feels more comfortable with vaping than smoking.
“The feeling with cigarettes is heavy. But with vaping, I don’t feel any heaviness, I’m not out of breath, I’m not struggling. For example, when I play basketball or run on the field, I don’t get out of breath, unlike with cigarettes,” said Ian, Vape User.
This World Tobacco Day, experts warn that vaping is still dangerous. And like cigarettes, vaping can also be fatal.
Proof of this is the country’s first recorded fatality due to vape use, based on documentation from UP-PGH.
The victim, who was from Laguna, had been vaping for two years.
“This is a 22-year-old male, healthy, sporty, with no vices, a non-smoker. He went to PGH feeling tightness in his chest, with a cough. When his lungs were examined, they appeared white. In layman’s terms, we can say that it’s as if his clear lungs were erased, because they were blocked by vape chemicals that induced swelling and inflammation. Now, that same vape became the cause of his blocked heart arteries, leading to a heart attack. So, it’s a double whammy,” according to Dr. Rizalina Gonzales, Chairman, Philippine Pediatric Society.
“When you vape, as the vapor enters your body, your blood vessels constrict. They tighten, and if you keep doing it repeatedly, as happened to our patient who used vape daily for two years, his lungs were exposed to the vapor. The passage for oxygen intake got blocked. If this were your heart, it has what we call coronary arteries, the blood vessels around the heart. Like that. These arteries got blocked,” stated Asec. Albert Domingo, Spokesperson, DOH.
“What we see based on evidence is that they are equally harmful. So, whether vaping or smoking, we can expect the same harmful effects,” according to Maricar Limpin, Executive Director, Action on Smoking & Health Philippines.
According to Dr. Maricar Limpin, Executive Director of Action on Smoking & Health Philippines, vapes are highly popular among the youth due to their packaging and design.
She also mentioned that vape companies’ marketing strategies using social media platforms are effective, making it easy to convince young people to try the product.
In 2015, a research study revealed that a vape company spent over one million dollars to promote e-cigarettes online.
“This is also a big problem because they are all disposable plastics, and the other effects of course are on the environment,” Limpin added.
Dr. Rizalina Gonzales, Chairman of the Philippine Pediatric Society, calls for the reinstatement of vape regulation under the Food and Drug Administration, similar to traditional cigarettes.
During the 18th congress, vape regulation was transferred to the DTI.
They also advocate for banning vape for those 20 years old and below.
They want various flavors banned, including menthol.
They propose prohibiting advertisement and promotion accessible to children and youth, among others.
If asked, the DOH wants to ban Vape in the country despite existing laws allowing its sale.
“We are following the law, Republic Act No. 11100 has been passed, but even though we comply, we do not agree. That’s democracy. We will do our duty, but if asked about a ban, the DOH’s answer is we want a ban,” Domingo stressed.
Data show that e-cigarette use is at 14.1 percent worldwide based on the Global Youth Tobacco Survey.
According to the DOH, due to its prevalence, vaping should be feared more than COVID-19 subvariants.
“Perhaps we can change what we fear. Not the KP.2 and K. 3 Flirt. Let’s not flirt with vape,” Domingo said.
