Philippines vape and smoking rules for travellers (2026)

The Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act (Republic Act 11900), which lapsed into law in July 2022, allows adults to buy and use vapes and heated tobacco. The minimum age is 18, nicotine content above 65 mg/ml cannot be sold, and nicotine shots and concentrates are banned. The Department of Trade and Industry, not the Food and Drug Administration, now regulates these products.

Use is where visitors get caught. Section 15 bans vaping in public places other than designated vaping areas, and bans it outright in schools, elevators and stairwells, gas stations, hospitals and clinics, public conveyances, food preparation areas, places of worship and government offices. Terminals count: use in airport and ship terminals, and in train and bus stations, is banned except in a designated area. Restaurants, conference halls, terminals and government offices may set up vaping areas, but none is obliged to.

Nothing in the law text exempts visitors from these fines. We did not confirm whether the Bureau of Customs treats a traveller's personal device as an import that needs DTI registration. The Act requires importers and manufacturers to register products, and it has no personal-import allowance. So how a vape in your bag is handled on arrival is unconfirmed.

We could not find a tobacco quantity on any official page we could open. The Bureau of Customs site returned an error to every request, and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (Republic Act 10863) gives no tobacco figure in the sections we read. We would rather leave the number out than quote one from a travel blog.

What the Act does say is that undeclared dutiable goods can be seized, and that seized goods can be released on payment of a fine of 30% of landed cost plus duties and taxes (section 1124). The UK Foreign Office advises declaring anything dutiable or prohibited. Before you pack more than a pack or two, check the Bureau of Customs traveller page.

Executive Order 26, signed on 16 May 2017, bans smoking in enclosed public places and conveyances, and in schools, workplaces, government facilities, food and lodging establishments and some outdoor areas such as playgrounds, parks, transport terminals and waiting areas. The exception is a fully compliant designated smoking area: at most one per building, 10 metres from entrances and exits, with its own ventilation and no minors.

• First offence: PHP 500-1,000.
• Second offence: PHP 1,000-5,000.
• Third offence: PHP 5,000-10,000, and the venue's permits are cancelled.
• The person in charge of the venue is also liable.

The penalties come from Republic Act 9211, section 32(a), which as we read it applies fines and licence action, not jail. The 2017 order does not mention vapes; RA 11900 covers them. Local governments enforce through smoke-free task forces and the police.

For the airports, see Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and Mactan-Cebu. We found no rule specific to passengers in transit; smoking and vaping are banned inside terminals except in designated areas. If you are carrying a vape on the flight, see flying with a vape.

Limits are per adult arriving by air, for personal use. The rule that applies is the one of the country you land in.

Figures checked on November 12, 2026.