BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Education in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DepEd-CAR) has reminded schools that bringing or using vapes and cigarettes within school premises remains strictly prohibited.

“That is not allowed. Schools are encouraged to initiate preventive measures to ensure that learners do not bring or use vapes and cigarettes in schools,” said DepEd-CAR Regional Director Dr. Estela Cariño in a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Cariño said the regional office would issue a reiteration of the policy to all division offices for dissemination to schools.

She also appealed to parents to discourage their children from engaging in such harmful habits and to prevent them from bringing these substances to school.

DepEd Memorandum No. 111, s. 2019, prohibits the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems in all DepEd offices and schools. It also upholds a total ban on tobacco use, underscoring the importance of maintaining smoke-free environments in educational institutions.

Despite a significant decline in smoking rates in Baguio City—over 70 percent from 2014 to 2022—the city’s Smoke-Free Task Force noted a rise in vape usage, with users as young as 13 years old.

City Health Officer Dr. Celia Flor Brillantes said many vape devices and juices have been confiscated and destroyed in schools across the city.

“We commend the schools that remain vigilant in protecting students from the harmful effects of vaping, especially among the youth,” Brillantes said.

She urged school administrators to actively participate in anti-vaping and anti-smoking campaigns by ensuring that students do not carry these prohibited items while on campus.

The regional Department of Health echoed the warning, citing health risks such as heart and lung diseases associated with vaping and smoking. These include EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury) and “popcorn lung” (bronchiolitis obliterans), a condition that blocks the lungs’ smallest airways due to inflammation.