Legality of regulation and Filipino’s consumer behavior on electronic cigarettes

• Main Author: Bernardo, Adrian Paul C.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Electronic cigarettes—Law and legislation > Philippines; Consumer behavior > Philippines; Health Law and Policy
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/7039
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper explores the legality of enacting a law regulating Electronic Cigarettes in view of the duty of the State to uphold its citizen’s right to health. Electronic cigarettes are devices which mimic the act of smoking through the vaporization of chemical mixtures which produces a cloud of vapor when exhaled. The safety of this product and its long term effects on the users remain an ongoing debate which necessitates the proper regulatory response by the State in order to preserve the population’s well-being as well sustain efforts in instilling health consciousness in the public. This study also looks at the Filipino’s consumer behavior towards electronic cigarettes. The product’s attributes namely its flavor, nicotine content, health warning, and price were studied to determine if they have a relationship with a consumer’s willingness to try and perceptions about the product regarding its harmfulness and quit efficacy. Gender and Smoking status were used to see if they a part in their decision making. A discrete choice survey was conducted through convenience sampling distributed to young adults. The data gathered from this survey was processed using a choice-based conjoint analysis function of a statistical software (XLSTAT). This study concludes that variations in the stated product attributes affect the consumer’s product choice in that they make tradeoffs depending on the attribute levels presented to them. The data gathered from this study may be used by policy makers in order to construct a regulatory system that would be responsive to the consumer’s behavior towards this innovative and evolving product.