Vape rules out next month

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

A high-ranking official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Friday said they are planning to release next month the supplemental guidelines for the certification of vape products that are sold in the country.

Trade Assistant Secretary Amanda Nograles said the guidelines will detail the regulations under the mandatory registration and certification of vape products that will begin in June.

“What we want here is to have a mandatory product certification and registration where all the rules are aligned,” Nograles told reporters during a roundtable discussion at the DTI’s office in Makati.

She added they held a public consultation on the matter Friday morning and are now collating the feedback they received from stakeholders.

Nograles said the guidelines were needed since vape products that did not undergo registration and certification would no longer be allowed to be imported and sold in the country.

Republic Act No. 11900, or the Vape Act, lapsed into law in July of 2022 while its implementing rules and regulations were released in December of the same year.

Under this law, the government will regulate the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of these devices and products.

The DTI was given the authority to certify the devices while the responsibility of regulating the consumables will be a joint responsibility with the Food and Drug Administration.

To date, the DTI’s Bureau of Philippine Standards has a laboratory in Cavite that can handle the testing procedures for vape device and batteries.

As for vape consumables, the government agency relies on accredited third-party laboratories to do the testing. As of last month, the DTI said nearly P6 million worth of uncertified vape products had been seized by authorities since the passage of the law. —ALDEN MONZON