ILOILO City – Confronting the growing threat of nicotine addiction among students, the Department of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas is tightening its grip on cigarette and vape use by some impressionable learners, warning that vaping poses the same dangers to health and brain development as traditional smoking.
“Smoking of vape and tobacco is bad for health and is a serious threat to learners,” said DepEd Region 6 information officer Hernani Escullar Jr.
“Most of these products have very addictive chemicals that can be detrimental to brain development in adolescents, impacting attention and learning,” he added.
DepEd-6 is enforcing its anti-smoking campaign through two policy issuances: DepEd Order No. 48, series of 2016 (Comprehensive Tobacco Control) and DepEd Memorandum No. 111, series of 2019 (Prohibition on the Use of E-Cigarettes and Reinforcement of Tobacco Ban in Schools and Offices). These align with the Department of Health (DOH) Administrative Order No. 2019-0007 and local government regulations banning tobacco and vape use in public places.
According to Escullar, strict compliance is required across all schools and offices in the region. Monitoring is conducted regularly, with each school’s Child Protection Committee overseeing implementation.
“If learners are caught, the vapes and cigarettes are confiscated, and they will receive necessary intervention as guided by these policies and the Child Protection Policy,” he said.
Under DepEd Order No. 40, series of 2012 or the DepEd Child Protection Policy, students found violating the tobacco ban will undergo a process involving guidance counselling and rehabilitation, not punitive action.
Schools are also tasked with educating students and personnel on the health and environmental impacts of tobacco, promoting cessation services, and strictly enforcing smoking bans and access restrictions on campus.
Meanwhile, the DOH Region 6 is collaborating with schools to combat the growing appeal of flavored vapes among teenagers.
“Vape has nicotine, too. It only masks itself with flavor. We must unmask it,” said Nurse IV Analeen Galilea of the Iloilo City Health Office.
Galilea warned that vaping and smoking share equally harmful effects. Internally, they can cause lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular illnesses, poor blood circulation, weakened immune systems, and sexual dysfunction. Externally, users may suffer premature aging, yellowed fingers, tooth decay, baldness, and persistent odor.
“We call on our schools to ensure adherence to the prohibition on the use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes in all schools and offices as stated in the DepEd Order and Memorandum, as well as the local regulations being implemented by the local government units,” Escullar added. “This will ensure that our schools are smoke-free and will continue to be a conducive environment for learning and development of learners.”/PN
