Rep. Weslie T. Gatchalian, chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, said the interest of businesses selling “vapes,” or Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Ends), must also be protected following President Duterte’s recent directive to ban its use and importation in the country.
“As chaiman of trade and industry, we also have to protect the interest of the hundreds of legal ‘vape’ shops operating now [nationwide]. Of course, they have employees, whose livelihood, will be affected by the ban on the use and importation,” said Gatchalian, who is the representative of Valenzuela’s first district. “We are pro-regulation on the business side. So we have to study on how to regulate this device.”
The lawmaker said his committee and the Committee on Health will conduct a joint hearing on Monday regarding the regulation of Ends.
“Ends are separate from heat and tobacco [products that are] not coverred by the pronouncement of the President. That’s why through the hearing, we will clear all these things out,” Gatchalian said.
This joint initiative with the Committee on Health will also discuss whether the contents of vaping devices are good or bad for the health, he added. Representatives from the trade and health agencies, as well as foreign experts were invited to attend to shed light on the issue and how the country could craft a better policy, according to Gatchalian.