Some Pinoys abroad turn to vaping against medical research findings


By LUCKY MAE F. QUILAO
In attempts to ditch their cigarette smoking habits, some Filipinos abroad turn to vaping despite medical research findings showing that the convenient, "clean"  alternative to cigarettes has harmful effects on users.
“Hindi ako makatakbo ng maayos noon nung nagyoyosi pa ako. Now, I started vaping, nakakatapos na ako ng isang laro ng basketball kasama mga friends ko. Hindi lang isang laro, dalawang laro pa,” said Randolf Francisco, 28, a service crew in Salmiya, Kuwait.
In an interview through Messenger in October 28, he also told GMA News Online that he has not fallen ill —except for common diseases —since he turned to vaping.
“I only had usual illnesses like fever, cough, and cold. Yun lang gawa din kasi ng klima dito. Aside from those illnesses, wala ng mas malala pa,” the member of the “Filipino Vaping Community-Kuwait” added.
Ransel Ladera, 36, an in-room dining staff at a casino hotel in Macau, Japan is even co-owner of vape shop “Vapouria Vape Hauz.”

Photo courtesy by Ransel Ladera
Photo courtesy by Ransel Ladera

“I started vaping in late 2009. Vaporium pa ang tawag nun. OFW na ako nung na-discover ko ang vaping,” the member of the Macau Vapers Club revealed in an interview via Messenger in October 29.
Ladera just stopped in 2011 because vape sellers can hardly be found in his host country.
“Madami na din ako nadidinig na hindi maganda tungkol sa vaping [so] I became a skeptic about the health benefits it can give smokers.”
But he said he resumed vaping in 2015 since he wanted to quit smoking.
“After three months of vaping again, medyo lumuwag ang paghinga ko. Nabawasan din ang withdrawal syndrone ng pag-stop ko sa paninigarilyo.”
“Now I have my own shop as part of my continuous belief in vaping. I’m also a part of the Macau Vapers Club and we are proud that the number of vapers keep on increasing and that only means a lot of people who want to quit smoking look into vaping as an effective alternative for tobacco smoking.”
But OFWs should refrain from vaping as well, the chairman of the Council for Control of Tobacco and Air Pollution (CCTA) and a member of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) has said.
“There is no such thing as ‘less cancer’ or ‘mild cancer.’ It is like choosing whether to jump from the 10th floor of a building or on its 5th floor for in the end the outcome is the same,” said Dr. Glynna Ong-Cabrera, who also practices at the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) and Capitol Medical Center (CMC), in an email interview with GMA News Online late in October.
She also pointed out that vapes, otherwise known as electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS), can also lead to bronchiolitis obliterates or popcorn lungs, lipoid pneumonia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
It can cause inflammation and a form of tissue damage known as oxidative stress, too, deteriorating blood vessel health. —LBG, GMA News

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