The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is actively enforcing the Vape Law to protect consumers and minors from illicit vapes that do not meet government standards and evade tax payments.
“The DTI is committed to protecting the welfare of our consumers. We want to ensure constant monitoring and enforcement operations to ensure that illicit vape products that pose a threat to consumers and especially minors are seized, and that appropriate actions are taken against violators of RA 11900 and its implementing rules,” said DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) director Fhillip Sawali.
The FTEB reported that since Republic Act No. 11900, or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Act, took effect in February 2023, the agency has checked a total of 96,151 vape firms as of August 2, 2024. These included 1,412 onsite vape shops and 94,739 online stores.
The FTEB, which serves as the DTI’s regulatory and implementing arm, said that of the total, only 19.25 percent were found compliant.
It said of the 1,412 brick-and-mortar stores monitored, the DTI-FTEB inspectors found 836, or 59.21 percent, compliant with the Vape Law. It issued notices of violation or show cause orders to the 418 non-compliant stores, while the remaining 158 stores were still under assessment.
The FTEB teams also checked 94,739 online stores, with only 17,670, or 18.65 percent, found following the Vape Law’s provisions.
The DTI-FTEB said that overall, it filed charges against 323 vape shops, including two online and 321 physical stores.
It has also confiscated 87,116 vape products worth P36.38 million since the law took effect. These included 65,145 non-compliant products worth P29.7 million seized under Task Force Kalasag’s operations, and 21,971 items worth P6.7 million confiscated under the DTI-FTEB’s regular monitoring and enforcement operations.
The DTI formed Task Force (TF) Kalasag in March 2024. It is a composite team of technical staff from the FTEB and DTI regional offices established to conduct nationwide monitoring and enforcement activities and ensure businesses comply with technical and legal regulations.
Since TF Kalasag began operations in April 2024, it has monitored 193 firms, issued 85 notices of violations, and confiscated 65,145 vape products with a total retail value of P29.7 million. Its biggest haul was on April 23, 2024, when it teamed up with the Philippine National Police Southern Police District (PNP-SPD) in Baclaran, Parañaque City, to confiscate 45,200 units of banned Flava-brand vapes worth P24.86 million.
The FTEB identified the common violations by physical vape shops are the use of flavor descriptors (356 violations); the absence of graphic health warnings (71); lack of point-of-sale signage prohibiting sale to minors (52); locations within the 100-meter perimeter from areas frequented by minors (44); absence of age verification measures (39); use of popular and/or animated characters that unduly appeal to minors (9); lack of business registration (9); use of vape products in designated places (2); and display of vape products near items for minors (1).
The DTI-FTEB’s online monitoring and enforcement teams also checked 94,739 online firms and flagged 77,069 URLs or links to violative product listings.
The FTEB also issued show cause orders to 494 online stores, including 285 on Facebook; 44 on Lazada; 85 on Shopee; 71 on TikTok; and nine company websites. Common violations by online vape merchants included the use of flavor descriptors (68,934 violations); lack of age verification measures (50,688); use of popular and/or animated characters that unduly appeal to minors (30,119); absence of graphic health warnings (6,115); lack of point-of-sale signage prohibiting sale to minors (481); and absence of the prescribed government warning (437).
