(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Nov. 19, said he was banning the use and importation of e-cigarettes.
The President made the announcement during a late-night press conference that was broadcast online.
“Vaping is also dangerous, I am banning it. If you are smoking now, you will be arrested,” Duterte said.
“Let us stop it. I am ordering the law enforcement agencies to arrest anybody vaping in public,” he added.
The President made the announcement days after the Department of Health confirmed the country’s first-ever case of vape-related illness.
According to the DOH, a 16-year-old girl sustained e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury or EVALI after using e-cigarettes for six months.
The DOH said the girl, who was not identified, was admitted to a hospital’s intensive care unit on Nov. 12 after experiencing extreme shortness of breath.
The agency said she had to be given supplemental oxygen so she could breathe properly.
The girl was given treatment and has since been discharged.
