MAKATI CITY—Trade and Industry Secretary Fred Pascual, on Wednesday, has ordered for the implementation of tighter monitoring of vape shops across the National Capital Region (NCR) to ensure that the restrictions on the sale of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products, as established by Republic Act No. 11900 also known as “Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act” are being implemented.

“As of June 1, our monitoring teams have already monitored 583 physical stores and 28,584 online stores, which totals to 29,167 firms monitored. The DTI, through our Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) will continue to implement tighter monitoring of these firms. We aim to balance the interest of both businesses/manufacturers and also protect our youth from these harmful substances,” Pascual said.

Out of the 583 physical stores monitored, 229 were found compliant to the prohibitions and regulations established by R.A. No. 11900, while 214 were found non-compliant. Meanwhile, out of 28,584 online stores, only 175 were found to be compliant after physical validation while 28,409 were non-compliant. As of date, 26,986 online stores are still undergoing physical validation.

As a result of this monitoring, FTEB has issued a Notice of Violation (NOV)/Show Cause Order (SCO) to 72 firms. The DTI has also confiscated 13,784 products from non-compliant stores with a retail value of PHP4,252,523.

Majority of the firms that have received an SOC/NOV have the following violations: (1) Rule IV – Requirements on product packaging; (2) Rule V – Sale of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products, their devices, or novel tobacco products; (3) Rule VI – Restrictions on product communication, advertisements, and sponsorships; and (4) Rule VIII – Prohibition on the use of nicotine and non-nicotine products in public places.

Further, as of June 1, the Adjudication Division of FTEB has already received 74 formal charges, with 73 filed against physical stores and 1 against an online store. The DTI conducts monitoring across major social media and e-commerce platforms to ensure that minors will not have access to these substances online.

Meanwhile, the DTI urges consumers to report violators, retailers, distributors, and manufacturers that sell uncertified items through the Consumer Care Hotline at DTI (1-384) or consumercare@dti.gov.ph.*

Date of release: 08 June 2023