Ang bagong e-siga rito: a critical analysis of the emergence of the case of e-cigarettes in the Philippines

Abstract

In 2005, The World Health Organization formulated and entered into force the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first global public health treaty which asserted the importance of every single human being’s right to health. As the tobacco epidemic continued to occur in this period of globalization, countries had come together to regulate the devastating consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke. The articles of this treaty comprised obligations by states which had approved of this document. These obligations highlighted the need to raise public awareness and implement strategies, plans and legislations on the advocacy for tobacco control, such as decrease in tobacco usage, nicotine dependence, and smoke vulnerability. According to the Global Burden of Disease (2010), the risk factor which accounted for the second most disease burden in the Philippines was tobacco smoking, next to dietary risks. Although the Philippines ratified the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in June 6, 2005, the numbers for the country had risen for the youth and adults in both cigarettes and other tobacco products. It had also been noted that smoking-related diseases caused the death of not only first-hand smokers, but also people exposed to secondhand smoke. These diseases had demanded extremely high economic costs in terms of healthcare and lost productivity. [Introduction]