Smoke-Free Baguio City

08/10/2025

SELLING WITHOUT A PERMIT - Assorted cigarette products with an estimated value of P200,000 were confiscated from a grocery store at the City Market today, October 8.

Following the receipt of a report about the establishment, the Smoke-Free Task Force conducted an inspection. Representatives of the Task Force Secretariat and the Environmental Health and Sanitation Division came to verify the report.

Along with the seizure of the to***co products, the establishment was issued a citation ticket for violating the Smoke-Free Baguio Ordinance. They were advised to cease selling products for which they do not have permits for, settle their fines, and comply with the rules and regulations set by the city.

✍️: JD Rivera
📸: JD Rivera

08/10/2025

MANILA — Two individuals—a Chinese national and a Filipino-Chinese—were arrested in Pasay City for selling and distributing unregistered v**e products in Metro Manila.

According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Chinese suspect had been selling prohibited v**e products in bulk to interested buyers, with negotiations carried out via mobile phones and the internet.

NBI spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said the operation, which took place in September 29, was quite challenging because it involved multiple elements of a buy-bust or entrapment operation.

Read the entire article here:
https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/3/2-arrested-in-pasay-for-selling-unregistered-v**e-products-1509

Authorities seized six boxes of unregistered v**e products.

07/10/2025

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Pangasinan is setting its sights on becoming a ‘smoke and v**e-free province’ under the leadership of Governor Ramon V. Guico III. This development follows a decisive move to engage the participation and support of all local government units throughout the province in achieving this goal.

Recently, 28 local government units (LGUs) in Pangasinan joined the Batch 2 of the Framework Convention on To***co Control (FCTC) Training, held from October 1 to 3 at Hotel Seoul, Clark Pampanga. The first batch, which was conducted from August 7 to 9, was participated in by 22 LGUs.

Read the entire article here:
https://www.pangasinan.gov.ph/pangasinan-pushes-towards-a-smoke-free-v**e-free-future-under-governor-guicos-leadership/

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Pangasinan is setting its sights on becoming a ‘smoke and v**e-free province’ under the leadership of Governor Ramon V. Guico III. This development follows a decisive move to engage the participation and support of all local government units throughout the province in ac...

06/10/2025

COTABATO CITY — Two rookie policemen are earning praise from various sectors after intercepting P9.5 million worth of undocumented imported ci******es at an anti-smuggling checkpoint in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, before dawn on Thursday, October 2.

Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, and Datu Odin Sinsuat municipal police chief Lt. Col. Esmael Madin separately told reporters on Thursday morning that the 266 boxes of Indonesian-made ci******es are now in police custody and will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs for proper disposition.

Read the entire article here:
https://qa.philstar.com/nation/2025/10/02/2477052/rookie-cops-foil-p95-m-worth-cigarette-smuggling-attempt-maguindanao-del-norte

  Two rookie policemen are earning praise from various sectors after intercepting P9.5 million worth of undocumented imported ci******es at an anti-smuggling checkpoint in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, before dawn on Thursday, October 2.

03/10/2025

THIRD NATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR APPREHENDED - A third national distributor of ci******es was apprehended for violating Section 5h and 5j of the Smoke-Free Baguio Ordinance yesterday, October 2.

Representatives of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Division were on their way back to the Health Services Office following an engagement at Easter College when they noticed a truck bearing a to***co company's logo parked beside a sari-sari store along Kitma.

The occupants of the truck identified themselves as employees of the to***co company and admitted to selling their products to stores in the area, including the previously-mentioned store.

The sari-sari store and the to***co company were issued citation tickets for selling without a permit to sell to***co products. They were advised to settle their fines promptly and to comply with the regulations set by the Smoke-Free Baguio Ordinance.

✍️: JD Rivera
📸: PJ Agustin, Zach Flores

03/10/2025

EASTER COLLEGE LECTURE - The Smoke-Free Task Force was invited by Easter Junior Senior High School to present about the Smoke-Free Baguio Advocacy yesterday, October 2.

Sanitation Inspector Rufino Madlon of the Health Services Office's Environmental Health and Sanitation Division talked about the consequences of smoking and va**ng, as well as the Smoke-Free Baguio Ordinance.

The Task Force regularly accepts invitations to present about the Smoke-Free Baguio Advocacy. For lecture invitations, please address your letter to the City Health Officer and submit it to the Administrative Division, Room 202, 2nd Floor, Health Services Office.

✍️: JD Rivera
📸: PJ Agustin, Zach Flores

03/10/2025

Advocates are concerned over Section 7 of Rep. Miro Quimbo’s new bill, which was not present in HB 11286: a proposal to insert a section in the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) to allow to***co/v**e/HTP manufacturers, importers or sellers to claim losses directly attributable to illicit trade as deductible expenses under Section 34(D) of the NIRC.

This is an incredibly misguided proposal that will erode government revenues and will only benefit the to***co industry.

Read the entire article here:
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2025/09/29/701363/tax-breaks-for-the-to***co-industry-will-be-a-blow-to-public-health-and-revenue/

In July, the new House Ways and Means Committee chair of the 20th Congress, Representative Miro Quimbo of the second district of Marikina, filed House Bill (HB) 1316, a bill “strengthening the administration of excise taxes on to***co and v**e products.” HB 1316 is almost identical to the Anti-I...

02/10/2025

Young Filipinos marked World Lung Day by unveiling a manifesto in Pasig City demanding stronger government action against the to***co industry’s “manipulative and deceptive tactics” aimed at the youth.

The TobaccOFF NOW! Movement, a youth-created and youth-led advocacy group, unveiled its Youth Manifesto Against To***co Industry Interference in Pasig City on Sept. 25.

The document was co-developed with 79 youth organizations and supported by over 100 community partners.

Read the entire article here:
https://mb.com.ph/2025/09/28/youth-group-launches-manifesto-vs-to***co-industry-on-world-lung-day

Young Filipinos marked World Lung Day by unveiling a manifesto in Pasig City demanding stronger government action against the to***co industry’s...

01/10/2025

MANILA – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Tuesday cautioned that some v**e products circulating in the country may contain the same synthetic cannabinoid components earlier found in so-called "Tuklaw" ci******es.

During the budget hearing of the agency, PDEA chief Undersecretary Isagani Nerez said laboratory tests conducted in the Philippines and Singapore both confirmed that "Tuklaw" ci******es contained a harmful chemical already listed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and included in the Dangerous Drugs Board’s (DDB) classification of prohibited substances.

Read the entire article here:
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1259868

MANILA – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Tuesday cautioned that some v**e products circulating in the country may contain the same synthetic cannabinoid components earlier found in so-called "Tuklaw" ci******es. During the budget hearing of the agency, PDEA chief Undersecretary…

01/10/2025

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Western Mindanao Naval Command (WMNC) agents arrested two suspects and seized PHP2.7 million worth of smuggled ci******es early Sunday off Basilan province.

WMNC commander Rear Admiral Constancio Arturo Reyes Jr. said the contraband was intercepted around 1:23 a.m. in the waters off Hadji Muhtamad town.

Two crew members, both residents of Basilan, were taken into custody, along with the illegal items.

Read the entire article here:
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1259754

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Western Mindanao Naval Command (WMNC) agents arrested two suspects and seized PHP2.7 million worth of smuggled ci******es early Sunday off Basilan province. WMNC commander Rear Admiral Constancio Arturo Reyes Jr. said the contraband was intercepted around 1:23 a.m. in the waters.....

30/09/2025

MANILA, Philippines — Civic advocacy group CitizenWatch Philippines has urged the government to dismantle the illegal cigarette trade, emphasizing that it is draining the nation’s health funds and endangering the lives of consumers in the country.

In a statement on Saturday, CitizenWatch Philippines lead convenor Orlando Oxales pointed out that the unchecked flow of illegal to***co “is theft in its most dangerous form.”

Read the entire article here:
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2116333/govt-urged-dismantle-illegal-ci******es-draining-health-funds

MANILA, Philippines — Civic advocacy group CitizenWatch Philippines has urged the government to dismantle the illegal cigarette trade, emphasizing that it is draining the nation’s health funds

29/09/2025

Peach oolong, pink guava, and passionfruit: these are flavors you’d expect to find in a bubble tea shop, not in a black market v**e loaded with illicit drugs. So it’s no surprise that young people in Southeast Asia have taken to these seemingly harmless devices. Some call them “piao piao”; others, “k-pods” – but perhaps their most fitting moniker is “zombie v**es,” since puffing the fruity concoctions has been known to leave users twitching uncontrollably, staggering around with glassy eyes, or convulsing on the floor.

Read the entire article here:
https://thediplomat.com/2025/09/zombie-v**es-are-sweeping-across-southeast-asia-sparking-a-new-public-health-crisis/

They’re flavored like candy but packed with drugs – leaving teenagers in convulsions and authorities scrambling to keep up.