A regional group confirmed that a Pasig regional trial court temporarily stopped the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration from implementing an administrative order that would have imposed restrictive regulations on electronic cigarettes or vapes.
Clarisse Virgino, a Philippine representative to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates said the court issued a writ of preliminary injunction ordering Health Secretary Francisco Duque and Undersecretary and FDA officer-in-charge Rolando Enrique Domingo not to implement Administrative Order No. 2019-0007.
The AO entitled “Revised Rules and Regulations on Electronic Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Delivery System” was supposed to take effect on Oct. 24, 2019.
“This means that manufacturers, distributors, retailers, importers, and/or exporters of vaping products need not follow the provisions of the DOH-FDA administrative order unless the writ of preliminary injunction is lifted by the court,” said Virgino.
The court also ordered other persons acting on or for Secretary Duque and Undersecretary Domingo’s behalf or upon their authority not to implement the administrative order while the case was still being settled, and not to exercise jurisdiction over vaping products.
The court concluded that there was an urgent need to restrain the imposition of the administrative order.
A writ of preliminary injunction is a provisional or ancillary remedy that is resorted to in order to prevent a threatened or continuous irremediable injury to the parties before their claims can be thoroughly studied and educated. “Its sole objective is to preserve the status quo until the merits of the case can be heard and decided by the court,” Virgino said.
CAPHRA is an alliance of consumer organizations from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. It aims to educate, advocate and represent the right of adult alternative nicotine consumers to access and use of products that reduce harm from tobacco use.