Recto eyes ban on disposable vapes

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto on Tuesday floated the possibility of banning the sale of disposable vapes in the Philippines, which he said are mostly unregistered products. 

“I think we should ban disposable vape products. Most if not all disposable vape products are unregistered with DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and do not pay excise taxes,” Recto said.

The Finance chief clarified, however, that he has yet to formally inform the DTI about the proposal.

The DTI is the agency responsible for regulating vapes and other new tobacco products.

"We don’t know if it’s safe being unregulated. They do not pay taxes and are sold/appeal to minors,” Recto said

A disposable vape is a non-rechargeable device that comes pre-charged and pre-filled with liquid. It does not require recharging and refilling.

Bureau of Internal Revenue regulations mandate a P52 per milliliter tax for nicotine salt/salt-freebase, such as disposable vapes. For conventional freebase nicotine variants, the tax is lower at P60 per 10 milliliters.

Recto said that if disposable vape makers fully comply with tax obligations, the selling price of their devices should not fall below P3,000 each.

“It should not be sold for less than probably P3,000,” he said.

Disposable vapes are being sold at online marketplaces at over P120 to more than P430 per device. —VAL, GMA Integrated News