CEBU CITY – Police have ordered the arrest of people who use e-cigarettes or vape in public places in Cebu.
Brigadier General Valeriano de Leon, the regional police chief, said he mobilized policemen to carry out the order after President Rodrigo Duterte told authorities to start arresting those who vape in public areas.
“I am ordering my men to arrest those who will smoke e-cigarettes and confiscate vapes in public places in Central Visayas region. As President Duterte said, this is an issue of public health and your police have this obligation to protect the people from the negative effects of smoke coming from vapers,” he said.
Duterte also ordered the ban on the use and importation of e-cigarettes and its so-called “juice”, following the first confirmed case of vape-associated lung injury on a teenager in Consolacion town in Cebu.
“The case of the teenage resident of Consolacion should serve as a wake-up call for the police and other government agencies to act together to protect the public. The case should also serve as a warning to vapers on the dangers of using e-cigarettes,” De Leon said.
He also ordered his commanders to coordinate with village officials and tap the watchmen as augmentation force in implementing Duterte’s order. “We need to work together on this. Barangay officials are of great help to run after vapers,” he said.
E-cigarettes are devices that heat a liquid into an aerosol that the user inhales. The liquid usually has nicotine and flavoring in it, and other additives. The nicotine in e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes is addictive. E-cigarettes are considered tobacco products because most of them contain nicotine, which comes from tobacco.
Besides nicotine, e-cigarettes can contain harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including: ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs, flavorants such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. (John Rey Saavedra)
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