E-cigarettes are better at stopping smoking

E-cigarettes are twice as effective at helping you quit smoking, an independent medical research funded by the British National Institute for Health Research.

Joey Dulay, president of the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association (PECIA), said that the result of the investigation corrected the misconception about electronic cigarettes.

"No longer can anyone say that there is no reliable research into the effectiveness of e-cigarettes when curbing smoking," Dulay said.

PECIA is the country's largest armed industrial group composed of e-liquid manufacturers, hardware manufacturers, importers and exporters and vape shop owners.

Dulay urged the government to reconsider a proposal for an administrative order, under pressure from the Ministry of Health and Food and Drug Administration, which wants to ban all flavors and all advertising material on e-cigarettes. The AO concept also requires that e-cigarettes and e-liquids go through a difficult registration process that the group believes will be a de facto ban on the category.

"We call on the government and regulators to carefully evaluate the benefits of e-cigarettes because it is an effective alternative to smoking, just as this research has proven," Dulay said.

He said that e-cigarettes can also help reduce the costs associated with the smoking problem in the country.

Dulay said that most developed countries are actively using e-cigarettes to help their citizens quit smoking.

E-cigarettes or the category of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) may crave nicotine smokers to minus the carcinogenic toxins resulting from cigarette smoking.

The World Health Organization has placed the number of Filipino cigarette smokers at 15.9 million since 2015.

"By making e-cigarettes freely available, millions of Filipino lives can be saved," Dulay said.