World - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday
he was ordering a ban on the use and importation of electronic
cigarettes in the country.
Duterte also ordered the arrest of anyone vaping in public, after the
Department of Health said it was investigating what could become the
country's first confirmed case of lung injury from the use of
e-cigarettes.
"I will ban the use and importation [of e-cigarettes] because it is
toxic and the government has the power to issue measures to protect
public health and public interest," he told a late-night press
conference.
"I am now ordering law enforcement agencies to arrest anybody vaping
in public, which is like smoking," he added. "You cannot do it inside
the room. That's full of shit. You contaminate people."
Last week, the Department of Health said a 16-year-old girl from the
central region of Visayas was possibly the first case of lung injury
from the use of electronic cigarettes.
The teenager was admitted in hospital on October 21 for "sudden onset
of severe shortness of breath," the department said.
She was initially thought to have a lung infection, but upon further
evaluation, her case met the criteria for "electronic cigarette or
vaping-associated lung injury" based on the guidelines by the US
Centers for Disease Control.
Further verification was required in order to confirm the diagnosis,
the department said.
The teenager was found to have used electronic cigarettes daily for
four months. After that time, she also smoked traditional cigarettes.
She has been discharged and has since stopped smoking.