Philippine vapers warned of arrests after Duterte ban

MANILA－Philippine police were ordered on Wednesday to arrest anyone caught vaping in public, just hours after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced a ban on e-cigarettes.

The abrupt prohibition, revealed by Duterte on Tuesday, adds to a growing global backlash against a product once promoted as less harmful than tobacco smoking.

Duterte, a former smoker, called the devices "toxic" and said vaping introduced "chemicals" into the user's body.