Philippine DTI Says Flavored Vape Products With Minor-Appealing Descriptors Are “100 Percent Smuggled”

Key Takeaways

• A Philippine DTI official said flavored vape products marketed with descriptors attractive to minors are “100 percent smuggled.”
• The DTI said such products did not pass the agency’s licensing process.
• The market value of confiscated vape products rose from PHP 5.4 million in 2023 to PHP 519 million in 2025.
• Authorities had already seized around PHP 10 million worth of vape products as of March 2026.
• The Department of Health said flavors are a major reason for youth vaping initiation and that vaping may be a gateway to nicotine addiction.

2Firsts, March 16, 2026

According to PNA, flavored vape products marketed with descriptors attractive to minors are “100 percent smuggled” and were not licensed by regulators, a Department of Trade and Industry official said during a Senate hearing on vaping regulations on Monday.

DTI Assistant Secretary Marcus Valdez II told the Senate Committee on Health and Demography that vape products with flavor descriptors such as food, desserts or cartoon-themed branding did not pass the agency’s licensing process.

He said that if a product carries illegal flavor descriptors attractive to minors, such as food, dessert or cartoon characters, it did not pass through the DTI and is therefore “100 percent smuggled.”

Marcus Valdez II said enforcement against illegal vape products has intensified in recent years.

According to DTI data, the market value of confiscated vape products rose from PHP 5.4 million in 2023 (approximately USD 91,800, based on 1 PHP = 0.017 USD) to PHP 32 million in 2024 (approximately USD 544,000,), and then surged to PHP 519 million in 2025 (approximately USD 8.823 million,).

For 2026, authorities had already seized around PHP 10 million worth of vape products as of March (approximately USD 170,000,), including PHP 3.6 million confiscated during a joint operation with the Bureau of Internal Revenue last week (approximately USD 61,200,).

The DTI also said it filed formal charges last year against Meta, Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop over sellers using their platforms to market unlicensed or substandard products, including vape devices.

Marcus Valdez II warned that authorities may shut down online platforms if they fail to cooperate in preventing the sale of illegal vape products.

The Department of Health said flavored vape products are a major reason why young people start using electronic cigarettes, raising concerns that vaping could serve as a gateway to nicotine addiction.

DOH Health Promotion Bureau Director Ma. Kristina Marasigan told the panel that nicotine dependence was found to be two times higher in e-cigarette users and that flavors were a major reason for the initiation of vaping in the younger generation, meaning vaping could be a gateway to future addiction.

She also said that most countries in Southeast Asia have moved to ban vaping products, and that eight ASEAN countries have already banned vape products, leaving only the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia still regulating them.

During the hearing, Senator Risa Hontiveros raised concerns about the growing accessibility of vape products to minors, citing aggressive marketing and appealing product designs.

She said colorful packaging, sweet and fruity flavors, aggressive online marketing and the widespread availability of single-use devices make vape products highly attractive and dangerously accessible to minors.

The Senate panel is now deliberating several measures seeking to strengthen the regulation of tobacco and vaporized nicotine products and amend Republic Act 11900, the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act.

Republic Act 11900 regulates the manufacture, importation, sale, packaging, distribution and use of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products in the country, including electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

Under the law, only plain tobacco and plain menthol flavors are permitted for vapor products.

The law also prohibits the sale of these products to persons below 18 years old and restricts advertising, marketing and flavor descriptors that may appeal to minors.

Image source: PNA