[Neighbors] We can’t prevent youth vaping when nicotine is in your face

“Neighbors” is Rappler People section’s space for community and human interest stories told in a personal way.

I remember growing up when television commercials lingered longer, like a jingle that stayed in my head for years. The Department of Health’s campaign on family planning and TB DOTS from many years ago became a childhood memory for many Filipinos. Long before we understood their meaning, we were already singing along. Years later, we still remember that family planning matters and TB is treatable.

Advertising is powerful. This is why countries began banning cigarette advertising: not only to stop direct marketing but also indirect forms like sponsored events and branded merchandise. Public health experts understood early on that exposure to tobacco ads normalizes smoking, especially among young people.

Today, the tobacco industry has shifted its strategies into digital spaces, where marketing is harder to recognize and regulate. It now appears through influencer content, livestreams, product reviews, and algorithm-driven feeds that cross borders. A Filipino youth can be influenced by a creator living a continent away. For nicotine products, promotion is no longer limited to obvious ads but blends into everyday online content.

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Young people now carry billboards in their pockets, and a generation shaped by algorithms cannot simply outscroll nicotine marketing. I did not fully understand this until I was close to purchasing a vape.

Smoking was off-limits in our home. It has always been my non-negotiable.

One day, I saw a vape displayed in a convenience store. The price surprised me: ₱200 (less than $4). I had assumed these devices were expensive and inaccessible.

At the time, I was under significant stress and found myself thinking about the flavors, the absence of cigarette smell, and how easy it would be to try it “just once.” 

I was unsettled by how quickly I considered vaping after seeing it. I only walked away because I heard my mother’s voice reminding me to never smoke. But if a single exposure could have that effect on me, what more on young people who encounter nicotine content daily online?

In the Philippines, young people are among the heaviest users of social media, where nicotine products increasingly appear as lifestyle content rather than advertising. This is not harmless; repeated exposure to nicotine-related content online leads to a significant increase in likelihood of tobacco and vape initiation.

Studies show that youth with no prior tobacco use, who use social media daily, are more likely to begin using tobacco products approximately a year later compared to less frequent social media users. Adolescents exposed weekly to nicotine-related content on Tiktok are more likely to start using e-cigarettes. Youth with no prior tobacco use who are liking or following tobacco brand accounts also have a higher risk for any tobacco initiation and for starting to use multiple products.

Tobacco companies understand that awareness is the first step of the marketing funnel, but unlike most consumer goods, this funnel does not end in purchase. It ends in addiction.

Tobacco is unlike any other product. It kills up to two-thirds of its users when consumed exactly as intended. This deadly industry survives only by recruiting new users, often young people they can reach online with minimal legal barriers.

The Philippines’ approach to tobacco advertising is outdated, with loopholes that the industry continues to exploit. Republic Act 11900, which lowered the minimum age for access to vape products from 21 years to 18, allows online advertising and sales of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. It has reopened the market to flavors attractive to youth.

With the rise of influencer-marketing, AI-generated content, and subtle product placement, the line between content and advertisement is blurred faster than regulation can adapt. Even age-gating measures online remain weak.

Society cannot expect young people like me to “choose freely” in a marketplace designed to capture our attention and shape behavior. Protecting young people cannot rely solely on telling us to “make better choices.”

With only a partial ban on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship (TAPS), we are playing a catch-up game we cannot win.

The Philippines, as a party to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, should align itself with global public health standards. Article 13 of the WHO FCTC requires parties to implement a comprehensive ban on all forms of TAPS, including cross-border and digital marketing. This includes:

• Eliminating point-of-sale displays to ensure no one is exposed to tobacco and nicotine products in stores.
• Strengthening safety measures and enforcement on social media and e-commerce platforms.
• Penalizing influencers, celebrities, and the tobacco industry for promoting nicotine use, whether direct or indirect.
• Preventing legal loopholes and ensuring strong enforcement of the laws.

Preventing youth addiction begins long before the first puff, often with whether young people see the product at all. – Rappler.com

Cyresse Ann . Achilleos, 26, is the media and communications officer of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) and a member of the Global Youth Voices.