WHO Representative in the Philippines Admits Vaping Is Safer Than Smoking

On March 11, reports emerged that the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly opposes the use of e-cigarette products. In fact, leaked papers from the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) last September indicated that the organization is working to regulate vapor products in the same manner as combustible counterparts.

At the same time, Dr. Ranti Fayokun, a WHO representative and a scientist in tobacco control at the National Non-Communicable Disease Control, admitted the relative safety of these products during a hearing on e-cigarette regulations held by the Philippine House of Representatives.

On the other hand, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced a ban on the use and importation of e-cigarettes, stating that anyone using the product would be arrested.

Duterte, a former heavy smoker who has suffered health consequences due to his habits, understandably takes a hard stance against cigarettes.

Unfortunately, he holds the same position regarding e-cigarettes, unaware that these devices are excellent tools for smoking cessation and harm reduction.

Meanwhile, during the aforementioned congressional hearing in the Philippines, addiction therapist and lawyer Dr. Andrew da Roza pointed out that the ban would be counterproductive. "They (the WHO) say that if you are a country that cannot formulate and enforce regulations, you must ban. To me, this is a contradiction. A country cannot regulate perfectly, but what it ends up doing is banning, because the black market will surge. This is an extremely important issue for children. If we ban things, if we do not regulate things, we create a black market that does not care about children, does not care about the elderly, does not care about us at all."