RELX warns of fake e-cigarettes in Philippines

E-cigarette producer RELX has warned customers in Philippines to be wary of cut-price products being sold in the market that are fake and could be hazardous to health.

The multinational said it has intercepted more than 100,000 counterfeit units in the Philippines to date, showing how entrenched the knock-offs have become in the market.

"Preventing the production and sale of counterfeit e-cigarette products is one of the main challenges currently facing the e-cigarette industry," said Patrick Drilon, RELX' head of external affairs for the Philippines.

"Counterfeit e-cigarette products pose serious potential health risks to consumers," he added, referring to the risk of toxicity from unapproved chemicals that may be used in them, as well as the risk of injury or damage from unsafe counterfeit or recycled batteries.

"While governments and local authorities work to implement stronger enforcement methods to rid the market of these harmful products, international e-cigarette companies can and should do more to aid them in this global fight to offer consumers products that abide by safety standards by undergoing stringent quality checks."

In 2020, RELX worked with the Chinese authorities in an operation that removed 70,000 counterfeit e-cigarette products with an estimated value of more than $700,000 from the market in China, which were intended to be sold in China as well as in other markets including Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

E-cigarettes seized in that enforcement action – called Golden Shield – found pods that used inferior e-liquids containing harmful substances like toluene at levels that greatly exceed normal standard, and also had nicotine content that did not match the label.

RELX says its customers should only buy products from authorised channels and can use QR code scanners on their phone to verify the authenticity of products from their labels.

To date, Golden Shield has resulted in the takedown of more than 17,000 websites and 6,000 social media accounts.