The Philippines government has summarily banned the import and sale of refillable vape pods and pod-based devices, based on a panic over recent reports of bottled e-liquids possibly containing synthetic cannabinoids.

The action was taken because the government says refillable pods can be filled with illicit, cannabinoid-laden e-liquids. (The ban, however, appears not to apply to traditional refillable open-system products like mods and tanks.)

The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)—the agency that has regulated vaping products since 2022—is now working to formalize a national ban on open-system pod vapes and “uncertified" e-liquids.

“The illicit market stands to thrive as legal choices vanish,” said the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) in a press release. “Consumers will flock to unregulated sellers, eroding safety standards and government revenue—precisely the opposite of the DTI's objectives.”

The country is in the throes of a panic over illicit thuoc lao (called “tuklaw” in the Philippines) cigarettes imported from Vietnam, which supposedly contain one or more synthetic cannabinoids, as well as about three times as much nicotine as standard cigarettes.

In August, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Dangerous Drug Board issued a joint warning about teenage use of the contraband cigarettes. In September, the PDEA widened its warning to vaping products, which they said “may contain the same synthetic cannabinoid components.”

Less than two weeks after that report, the DTI removed a refillable pod-based vaping device from one company’s Certificate of Philippine Standards License, according to the Manila Standard. The Phantom Vape Group then voluntarily removed all refillable pod products from its selection of licensed products.

The DTI will soon issue a blanket ban on all refillable pod vapes.

Although no news stories or government communications I could find actually named the synthetic cannabinoid referred to, the description of the effects on users—seizure-like jerks and twitches, psychotic episodes—seem to suggest the group of synthetic drugs usually called spice. A related family of synthetic cannabinoids, called pinaca, has similar effects.

Spice and its thousands of variants have been around for decades, sold in various forms all over the world. What they have in common is a strong binding affinity with human cannabinoid receptors, which is why they’re often mistakenly referred to as synthetic marijuana.

Whatever they’re called, they often produce effects decidedly unlike those caused by the THC in marijuana or hemp-derived cannabinoids like delta 8 THC or HHC. The unwelcome effects of spice intoxication can include aggression, seizures, respiratory failure, loss of consciousness, and kidney and heart damage.

Most of these drugs are produced in underground Asian labs, and sometimes include other potentially harmful ingredients like anticoagulants. They can be applied to cigarettes or mixed into e-liquids, but banning cigarettes and nicotine vaping devices is unlikely to reduce demand for them.