On November 19, President Rodrigo Duterte announced a ban on the public use and importation of e-cigarettes or vapes in the Philippines.
“I will ban it. I will ban it – the use and the importation,” he stated during a press conference.
Now, it looks like it has been implemented because the Philippine National Police reports that they have apprehended 243 individuals since the order.
According to PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, they have apprehended these individuals in 2,878 separate operations.
They have confiscated 318 vape devices and 666 vape juice products.
He added that Central Visayas has the highest number of violators with 195 individuals who were caught.
However, those who were caught were released after police blotters were filed. This is because there is no legal basis to file a case against anyone arrested for vaping in public.
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