The House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 19, approved on second reading House Bill 9007, which seeks to regulate the manufacture and sale of various types of e-cigarettes such as electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) and non-nicotine delivery system (ENNDS) as well as heated tobacco products (HTP).
As stated in the bill, ENDS and ENNDS refer to devices or a combination of devices often resembling cigarettes, cigars or pipes, which contain:
- A receptacle designed to hold liquid or solid particles, and
- A battery-powered or electronic heating device used to heat the liquid or solid particles, which may or may not contain nicotine, to produce an aerosol, mist, or vapor that users inhale by mimicking the act of smoking.
The proposed “Non-Combustible Nicotine Delivery Systems Regulation Act” aims to put in place harm reduction measures, in the interest of public health, by ensuring that non-combustible alternatives to cigarettes are properly regulated.
Under the measure, the minimum allowable age for the purchase, sale, and use of ENDS, ENNDS, and HTP would be 18 years old. The proposal would then obligate retailers to verify the age of all buyers by requiring the presentation of any valid government-issued identification card exhibiting the buyer’s photograph and age or date of birth.
Before the measure hurdled second reading, deputy speaker Kristine Singson-Meehan lodged her amendments to the measure, particularly on the prescribed textual warning for the unit packaging or any outside packaging of ENDS or ENDS-refills or HTP consumables.
Similarly, Nueva Ecija representative Rosanna Vergara proposed to replace Section 14 of the bill, specifying the prohibited areas in all enclosed public places in the use of ENDS, ENNDS, or HTPs except for the Designated Vaping Areas (DVAs).
