DTI suspends online sales of vape products

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Trade Secretary Alfedo Pascual issued an order Friday halting online sales, advertising and distribution of vape products, a move that tightened government regulation of an industry long opposed by the health community.

“This is a temporary suspension until the e-marketplaces can convince us that they are complying with their obligations under Republic Act No. 11900 or the Vape Law, as well as other laws and related enactments,” Pascual told reporters during a roundtable discussion in Makati.

Removing sellers from the list

The head of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the reason for the order was mainly the need to prevent the sale of e-cigarette products to minors and to ensure that products sold online meet safety standards set by law.

READ: DOH supports finance chief’s proposal to ban disposable vaporizers

The instruction, contained in the four-page ministerial order No. 24-03, takes effect immediately, he said.

To be allowed to resume sales, vape companies and e-market operators would have to submit an affidavit of their full compliance with the vape law, he added.

Undersecretary Amanda Marie Nograles of the DTI’s Consumer Affairs and Legal Services Group said the agency received commitments from two e-market operators to delist vape sellers from their platforms following a meeting on June 27.

“They have told us this in official letters and communications. But this is necessary, because what about the others?” said Nograles.

On June 14, the DTI said it had monitored nearly 90,000 companies engaged in the e-cigarette business, including online companies.

Violations

Of these, 526 were issued with hearing orders, while 284 received warnings from the DTI for various offences, such as selling e-cigarettes within 100 metres of schools, playgrounds or places where minors are present, using advertising or “flavours” aimed at minors, or failing to display signs indicating the minimum age in the store.

So far this year, the DTI has seized at least P32.76 million worth of e-cigarettes, mostly because they were offered for sale without the appropriate certifications, such as the Philippine Standard mark or the Import Commodity Clearance sticker.

Last month, the department ordered mandatory certification of vape products under the Vape Act, which takes effect in July 2022. —Alden M. Monzon