MANILA — For an official of the Department of Education (DepEd), the youth in the Philippines are caught in a "silent pandemic" of e-cigarette and vape use, a situation that the agency will not sit still about.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Dexter Galban on Wednesday said they are collaborating with agencies like the Departments of Health (DOH), Trade and Industry (DTI), and Interior and Local Government (DILG), for stronger implementation of regulations on vape use and wider awareness of the harms of vaping.

"Actually, it's not even silent anymore. It's becoming very pronounced because you now see it in movies, you now see it in television. It's becoming part of the normal," he told ABS-CBN News.

"We really have to work with these agencies to implement these interventions outside the confines of DepEd facilities," he added.

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AGE-APPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS

Galban said students from Kinder to Grade 12 are being taught age-appropriate prevention and cessation of vaping and all forms of vices, and there are public awareness campaigns led by student governments so that they may set as examples and speak the language of their peers.

In this way, the DepEd hopes the youth will realize early on that vaping and smoking are equally bad for the health and their welfare.

He said that the government campaign against smoking has been effective, with younger Filipinos shunning tobacco in cigarettes.

"But if you ask them a follow-up question, 'Pero nagva-vape ka ba?' 'Oo.' ('But do you vape?' 'Yes.') The industry has been able to successfully fragment similar products as categories of their own. When, in fact, they both can cause substantial harm to our learners," Galban shared.

He said vapes come in different flavors and designs and are sold in bright packaging, making them attractive to the youth.  

Parents and guardians also play an integral part in ending e-cigarette among the young, he said, adding parents might not know that their children are buying e-cigarettes online.

"It's actually more dangerous iyong sa online because, at least, in malls, they can see that the one buying is a learner, although pwede naman silang magpabili (although they can have someone else buy)," Galban explained.

Republic Act No. 11900 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act prohibits the sale, promotion, advertising, and product demonstration of vapes and novel tobacco products like e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco products (HTPs) "within 100 meters from any point of the perimeter of a school, playground or other facility frequented particularly by minors".

WHY THEY USE VAPES

Millennials "Anna" and "Perla" admitted they used to smoke cigarettes, but have since shifted to disposable vapes.

For Anna, the vape flavors were the selling points.

"Masarap kasi. Sa sigarilyo kasi... masakit na sa dibdib iyong amoy," she shared.

(The taste is good. Unlike with cigarettes, the smell is hard on the lungs.)

"Nasa point pa ako na talagang hinahanap-hanap ko pa. Kasi sa trabaho pag stressed, sa bahay pag pagod, tapos after kumain, lalo na iyon," she added.

(I'm at a point where I still look for it, especially when you're stressed with work, tired at home, and you crave it after you eat.)

Perla said she was diagnosed with Stage 2 hypertension when she was smoking, so she decided to switch to vapes as an alternative.

She is planning to quit soon.

"Iyon nga lang, hinahanap ko talaga iyong smoke parang mahirap pa rin... Aware na, siyempre, sa kalusugan ko din... Iyong sa pamilya ko rin, usok ako nang usok, sila rin naaapektuhan," she explained.

(However, I still look for the smoke...I'm already aware that it's harmful for my health, and even my family is affected by the constant smoking.)

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Dr. Maricar Limpin, a pulmonologist and Smoking Cessation Program director at the Philippine Heart Center, has expressed alarm as more patients are getting e-cigarette or vape-associated lung injury (EVALI), especially among the youth.

Smokers and vapers who want to stop the habit can call the DOH's Quitline 1558 free of charge or speak with their respective local government units (LGUs) about existing smoking cessation programs.