THE Youth for Health Coalition (YHC) yesterday condemned the growing number of minors using vape products in the country.
In a statement, the YHC noted that vape products are highly accessible to young people through both physical vape shops and online marketplaces.
“Elementary and secondary students can easily purchase vapes due to the widespread proliferation of vape shops. Some can even buy them via social media,” it said.
The group pointed out that sellers deliberately use creative packaging designs to entice young people to purchase vape products.
“For instance, milk tea-flavored vapes are packaged in containers resembling milk tea cups, stuffed toys, or keychains. These are designs that can be highly appealing to children and the youth,” the YHC said.
Because of this, the youth group, which promotes the health and well-being of all Filipinos, said it supports the proposal of the Department of Finance (DOF) to increase and unify the excise taxes on all tobacco products, including vapes, beginning in 2027.
The YHC said it agrees with the DOF that the excise tax on vape products should be set at P72.93 per 2 mL.
“The Youth for Health Coalition is calling for the proposed tax hike on vapes to be maximized so that they will no longer be affordable to students and thus protect the health of the youth,” said the YHC.
In addition, it said the excise tax on vape products should be unified regardless of their type.
“If the taxes imposed differ based on the type of vape products, consumers might simply switch to the cheaper kind. Instead of reducing nicotine consumption, they might merely switch to a different type of harmful product,” the YHC said. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
