President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order that prohibits vaping or the smoking of e-cigarettes in public places, as the Department of Health (DOH) has stressed the need to ban the device.

Executive Order No. 106, signed on Wednesday but made public only on Friday, also prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, and requires the registration of such products with the Food and Drug Administration.

Establishments that manufacture, import, and sell e-cigarettes meanwhile are required to secure a license to operate from the FDA.

The latest executive order is an expansion of Duterte’s 2017 directive to ban smoking of tobacco products in public places.

Health officials had earlier reported a case of electronic cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI) in the central Philippines.

Over a million Filipinos use e-cigarettes according to the Department of Health (DOH).

The health department  has repeatedly called for an outright ban on vaping.

The DOH  has earlier warned that e-cigarettes are not a proven nicotine replacement therapy and can cause lung illness./Stacy Ang