Electronic Cigarette Regulation Tightened: Philippine Department Of Trade And Industry Orders E-commerce Platforms To Immediately Remove Illegal Electronic Cigarettes

On August 15th, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the Philippines issued an order through the "Special Regulatory Office for Aerosol Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products and New Tobacco Products" (OSMV), requiring e-commerce and other online platforms to immediately remove illegally sold electronic cigarette products from their online stores, with a 7-day implementation period.
The Department of Trade and Industry stated that the regulatory action discovered that some online merchants on multiple e-commerce platforms were selling or displaying un-certified electronic cigarette products, which lacked the legal tax stamp identification and Philippine Standards (PS) license marks, were illegal products, and violated the following regulations:
Republic Act No. 11900, the "Regulation of Aerosol Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products" Article 4(d) and Article 18; Republic Act No. 4109, the "Standard Law"; Departmental Executive Order No. 2 of 2007 (2007).
Furthermore, according to Article 21 and Article 22 of the 2023 "Internet Transactions Law" (Republic Act No. 11967, RA11967), all e-commerce and digital platforms must prohibit the sale and advertising of regulated goods, unless the sellers provide necessary licenses, permits, and relevant information. The platform must bind the sellers through contracts to comply with the sales process, restrictive regulations, and the requirements of central and local government laws.

The Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines stated that it now orders all e-commerce and online platforms to immediately remove the merchant web pages, product links, or applications involving illegal or un-certified electronic cigarette products.
The platform must complete the rectification within 7 days and Completely remove the information of illegal products If the rectification is not completed by the deadline, the e-commerce and online platforms will be jointly responsible with the involved merchants and will face administrative and legal proceedings, including fines under RA11900, RA11967, RA7394, and other trade industry laws, and may have their operating qualifications in the Philippines suspended.
The Department of Trade and Industry also warned the public to be vigilant against counterfeit Black Ultra electronic cigarette products. These products are unauthorized, untested, or un-certified, have no association with any legal manufacturer, but are still widely sold in the Philippines. According to the reports received by OSMV, a large number of distributors and retailers have been misled, believing that this product belongs to the X-Ultra product line of X-Vape Technology Company.