22 June 2026
By Gerard Naval – malaya Business Insight
THE Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) on Sunday said a large number of Filipino youth are now initiated to nicotine as seen in the high usage of vape products in the country.
In a brief statement, SEATCA described as infuriating a recent study of the University of the Philippines (UP) – National Institutes Of Health (NIH) showing a high level of nicotine consumption among youth.
It noted the study’s findings that vaping has become the most common form of nicotine use among the Filipino youth in Grade 7 to 10.
“It signals that nicotine initiation is already deeply entrenched among adolescents,” it said.
The UP-NIH study showed that one in three students has tried a vape product, which is nearly double the rate of cigarette experimentation.
Among current nicotine users, 67.5 percent use vapes exclusively, while dual use of both cigarettes and vapes stands at 14.8 percent.
Data also indicates that nicotine use rises sharply with age, starting at 30.1 percent for 12-year-olds and at 72.7 percent for 18-year-olds.
SEATCA said there is now a more urgent need to ban vaping in the country and to combat the continued threat of cigarette smoking.
“Incremental regulation is no longer sufficient to protect young people,” it said, stressing that
“this evidence strengthens the urgent need to ban vapes and other nicotine products, while advancing bold policy action toward a full phase-out of cigarettes to prevent lifelong addiction and safeguard the next generation.”
SEATCA is an ASEAN-accredited multi-sectoral, non-governmental alliance promoting health and saving lives by assisting ASEAN countries to accelerate and effectively implement the tobacco control measures contained in the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
It is acknowledged by governments, academic institutions, and civil society for its advancement of tobacco control in Southeast Asia.