Leading maker of vapes to heed ban on sale to minors ahead of Feb. 7 deadline
The Philippine unit of Juul Labs, one of the world’s biggest makers of vapes, on Monday (Jan. 27) said it will stop selling its products to people below 21 years old which is mandated by the new sin tax law.
The company said in a statement that it was “proactively taking steps to immediately comply with the newly passed legislation even ahead of deadline to uphold its commitment of acting responsibly and in collaboration with public health officials and regulators.”
Republic Act (RA) No. 11467 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last week prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes (heated tobacco and vapes) to anyone younger than 21 years old and nonsmokers starting on Feb. 7.
Juul also said it would stop making mango, creme and mint flavors available at any Juul seller or online. The company said it would also stop delivering these flavors to any of its retail outlets.
It said, though, that it would continue selling the Virginia tobacco flavor “to those verified as over the age of 21.”
Juul said it would stop the sale of any of its products to people below 21 years old in all its kiosks and online.
It added that it would pay higher excise for nicotine-based vapes provided by the new law—P37 per ml effective Jan. 1, P42 per ml in 2021, P47 in 2022, P52 in 2023 and 5 percent every year starting in 2024.
Prior to the new law, liquid e-cigarettes had been taxed P10 per 10 ml.
“We are dedicated to helping the world’s one billion adult smokers transition away from combustible cigarettes while responsibly preventing underage use of our products,” Juul said.
“We are supportive of all measures that appropriately position vaping products to ensure they reach only the adult smokers for whom they are intended,” the company said.
