Law Summary
Key Definitions
- Extensive definitions covering terms like advertising, celebrity, child-resistant, designated vaping area, distributor, heated tobacco products/devices/systems, manufacturer, nicotine and nicotine mixtures, novel tobacco products, packaging terms, point-of-sale, product demonstration, promotion, refill, retailer, sponsorship, tamper-resistant, vapor products and devices, and vaporized nicotine or non-nicotine products.
Packaging and Health Warnings
- Requires graphic health warnings covering 50% of principal display surfaces.
- Textual warnings differ for nicotine-containing and non-nicotine products.
- Packaging must not obscure warnings.
- Compliance with internal revenue fiscal marking mandatory.
- Specific labeling rules for products intended for export.
- DOH to issue templates and guidelines within 30 days of effectivity.
Tamper-Resistant and Child-Resistant Packaging
- Vapor product refills must be child-resistant, tamper-resistant, and protected against breakage and leakage.
- Non-refillable receptacles must not be tampered with or refilled.
Age Restriction on Sale and Use
- Minimum age for purchase, sale, and use set at 18 years.
- No defense for sellers claiming ignorance of buyer's age or product intended use.
Proof-of-Age Verification
- Retailers must verify buyers’ age with valid government-issued ID.
- Direct delivery only to persons 18 years or older.
Online Trade Regulation
- Online sale allowed with measures to block access to minors.
- Mandatory age self-declaration on websites.
- Online sellers and distributors must register with DTI or SEC.
- Compliance with health warnings and tax regulations required.
- Delivery to comply with age verification rules.
Restrictions Within School Premises
- Prohibits sale, promotion, advertising, and demonstration within 100 meters of schools, playgrounds, or areas frequented by minors.
Point-of-Sale Signage and Display
- Mandates posting clear, conspicuous age and health warning signs at points-of-sale.
- Products must not be displayed adjacent to items of particular interest to minors.
Advertising and Communication Controls
- Advertising allowed only in points-of-sale, direct marketing, and online, but:
- Must not target or appeal to persons under 18.
- Prohibits use of youth-appealing elements like cartoons or youth influencers.
- Must include specific health warnings.
- No celebrity endorsements or featuring minors.
- Prohibits portraying vaping as an attractive lifestyle for minors or nonsmokers.
- Advertising must not contain false or unsubstantiated claims.
- Online ads must have age verification controls.
- Marketing with flavor descriptors appealing to minors is prohibited.
- Medical or therapeutic claims require FDA approval.
- Reduced risk statements require FDA authorization.
Restrictions on Promotional Activities
- Promo events only for persons 18 years or older and conducted by trained experts.
- Must contain health warnings and age requirements on materials.
- Promotion limited to point-of-sale or adult-only facilities.
- Prohibits product placement in media accessible to general public including minors.
- Promotional merchandise with Vapor or Tobacco product branding prohibited if visible or intended for minors.
Sponsorship Restrictions
- Bans sponsorship in sports, concerts, cultural, or art events.
- Participants must be 18 or older with proof of age.
- Sponsorship communications must include health warnings and age requirements.
- Merchandising with product branding banned at sponsored events.
- Excludes corporate social responsibility activities without branding.
Use in Public Places
- Ban on usage in indoor public places except in designated vaping areas (DVAs) and product demonstration points-of-sale.
- Prohibition extends to youth centers, elevators, hazardous locations, healthcare facilities, public conveyances, food preparation areas, places of worship, and government offices.
Awareness Campaigns
- DOH to coordinate smoking and vaping awareness campaigns including public information drives and signage.
- Encourages private sector participation in restriction awareness.
Standards for Designated Vaping Areas (DVAs)
- No minors allowed.
- Required visible signage about vaping and age restrictions.
- Smoking prohibited inside DVAs.
- Controlled occupancy based on size.
- DVAs must be outdoor open spaces or enclosed indoor areas with proper ventilation and design to prevent aerosol escape.
- No food or beverage serving in DVAs unless in points-of-sale.
- No obligation to establish DVAs; stricter measures allowed.
Product Standards
- DTI in consultation with FDA to set technical safety, quality, and consistency standards based on international norms.
- Maximum nicotine content capped at 65mg/ml.
- Compliance mandatory.
Product Registration
- Manufacturers and importers must register all relevant products with DTI.
- Only registered products allowed in the market.
- Noncompliance may lead to recalls, bans, seizures, and suspension of online platforms.
- DTI and BIR to maintain monthly updated list of registered products and authorized online sellers.
Nicotine Shot Restrictions
- Retail and use of nicotine shots or concentrates strictly prohibited.
Jurisdiction
- DTI holds exclusive jurisdiction over all matters related to these products per this Act.
Floor Price Regulation
- BIR to set minimum retail price reflecting taxes and production costs.
Penalties
- Graduated fines and imprisonment depending on offense and frequency, ranging from P5,000 to P5,000,000 and up to 6 years imprisonment.
- Business permits/licenses may be revoked or cancelled upon repeated violations.
- Specific penalties target violations of age restrictions, advertising, promotions, packaging, and product standards.
- Online sellers and platforms subject to suspension and fines for noncompliance.
- Foreign offenders deported and barred from reentry.
Implementing Rules and Regulations
- DTI and FDA to issue IRR within three months of effectivity.
- Non-issuance does not delay Act’s enforcement.
Encouragement of Local Tobacco Usage
- Manufacturers encouraged to source local tobacco for products sold domestically.
Appropriations
- Funds for implementation charged to current government agency budgets, with continued funding in General Appropriations Act.
Transition Period
- Eighteen-month grace period for stakeholders to comply with requirements post-IRR issuance.
Separability Clause
- Invalidity of any provision does not affect remainder of the law.
Repealing Clause
- Prior laws or regulations inconsistent with this Act are repealed or amended accordingly.
Effectivity
- The Act takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or two newspapers of general circulation.