Groups pushing for cigarette alternatives urge gov’t to stop foreign grants to FDA

MANILA, Philippines — The government should cut the flow of foreign grants to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent it from being influenced in its regulation of vape and heated tobacco products.

The Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines (NCUP), a nonprofit group pushing for safer alternatives to cigarettes, made the appeal in a joint statement issued by various organizations on Sunday.

The grants would “cast a dark cloud” on the role of the FDA as a protector of public health, according to Anton Israel, NCUP president.

The NCUP recalled in its statement some FDA officials admitted during a hearing conducted by the House of Representatives that the agency had received grants from foreign groups — namely, The Union and Bloomberg Initiative.

This prompted Deputy Speaker Deogracias Victor Savellano, who represents Ilocos Sur, to move for the suspension of the consultation and call for a full-blown House probe on the matter citing a conflict of interest.

“The FDA receiving money from foreign vested interest groups is a clear violation of the code of conduct for public officials which is a ground for the filing of anti-graft cases with the Ombudsman,” Israel reiterated an earlier statement of the NCUP.

The group had previously threatened to file a graft case at the Office of Ombudsman against the FDA if it would continue to ignore the “the views of legitimate and impacted stakeholders and proceeds with the adoption of an administrative order lifted from the playbook of their anti-tobacco patrons.”

The latest NCUP statement also quoted the views of Clarisse Virgino, the Philippine representative to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA)

“It comes now as no surprise that the Administrative Order drafted by the FDA, if adopted, would virtually constitute a de-facto ban on vapes and HTPs [heated tobacco products],” Virginio said. “The FDA agenda is crystal clear. For the 16 million Filipino smokers, the only option is to quit or die. To the 1 million vapers, go back to smoking cigarettes.”

Virgino also noted that solicitation or acceptance of gifts is prohibited under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, especially if it involves a piece of regulation.

She said they were “shocked and aghast” by the admission of the FDA that it had received money from the Union and Bloomberg Initiative.

“These groups are known advocates of prohibition for all forms of tobacco products including better alternatives to cigarettes like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products,” Virgino said. “It is clear that funds received from anti-vaping groups would jeopardize FDA’s treatment of tobacco harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes and HTPs.”

“E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are not pharmaceutical products and should not be regulated as such. What we need is a fair and risk-proportionate regulation that will encourage smokers to reduce their exposure to smoke which is the one that causes all these diseases,” Virgino added.

For his part, Israel added: “This is simply a case of American businessmen spurned in their own country dictating on a Philippine regulatory body what rules it should implement and how they should regulate a particular industry in complete disregard of science and consumer rights.”

According to the NCUP statement, other groups were also dismayed at the FDA for its acceptance of the grants and its handling of what some described as a “moro-moro” public consultation.

“The imposed limitations during the public consultation made it challenging to discuss extensively and thoroughly the crucial provisions of the proposed guidelines,” the NCUP quoted Peter Paul Dator of Vapers PH as saying. “In coming up with a regulation that has the potential to positively change the lives of 16 million Filipino smokers, we, the stakeholders, were expecting a more transparent and participatory process.”

“All we ask for are transparency and inclusion in the discussion because we, the consumers, are the ones directly affected by these guidelines, and not the pharmaceutical or medical groups who have no stake in the issue,” Dator added. “We [vapers and the industry] are the ones most affected by these guidelines and should be heard and considered also.”

During the public consultation, Joey Dulay, president of the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association, said that they were saddened to hear that the guidelines were based on only recommendations made by medical nongovernment organizations.

“The vaping industry is being treated unfairly. We are not the enemy here. Combustible cigarettes that bring 88,000 deaths per year are our common enemy. Why is vaping treated worse than smoking?” Dulay asked.

The groups called for impartial and reasonable regulations based on scientific evidence.

Dr. Lorenzo Mata Jr., president of the advocacy group Quit For Good said, “Science, and there is an abundance of curated and peer-reviewed studies out there, should be the basis of regulation. Not political or ideological agenda.”

Mata said they have been advising the FDA that regulation should be based on the risk profile of products.

“The greater the risk to one’s health, the stricter the regulation, not the other way around. The World Health Organization has in fact conceded before the Philippine Congress that e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than cigarettes. So why regulate them the same as cigarettes?” he said.

Dator said they hoped that in succeeding dialogues “the FDA officials will open their minds, listen to scientific evidence, and do their job of regulating, and not restricting the use of these novel products, as our existing laws intended.”

[atm]