MANILA ¨C The Philippines will outlaw the use and importation of e-cigarettes and arrest anyone using them, its president said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of nations moving to ban devices that have been linked to deaths and addiction.

President Rodrigo Duterte announced the order during a late-night news conference after being asked about a Department of Health report confirming the first case of lung injury related to vaping in the country.

¡°I will ban it. The use and importation. You know why? Because it is toxic and government has the power to issue measures to protect public health and public interest,¡± said Duterte, who has also banned smoking cigarettes in public.

He also directed law enforcers to arrest anybody caught vaping in public.

Duterte, 74, was himself once a heavy smoker but quit when he was diagnosed as suffering from Buerger¡¯s disease, which can cause blockages in the blood vessels.

¡°This vaping, they say it is electronic. Don¡¯t give me that shit. Better stop it, I will order your arrest if you do it in a room. ... That is like smoking. You contaminate people,¡± he said.

The ban could curb expansion plans of companies such as U.S. e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, which has been launching its products in international markets, including the Philippines, amid a widening crackdown on vaping at home.

The world¡¯s vaping industry, which has seen rapid growth, has faced a growing public backlash over concerns of increased use by young people.

India, which has the second-largest population of adult smokers in the world, banned the sale of e-cigarettes in September as it warned of a vaping ¡°epidemic¡± among young people.

Public health officials in the United States recommended not using e-cigarettes after several deaths and hundreds of cases of illnesses linked to e-cigarette use were reported.

The global market for e-cigarettes was worth $15.7 billion in 2018, data from Euromonitor International showed, and is projected to more than double to $40 billion in 2023.

Malaysia also wants to club e-cigarettes and vaporizers together with tobacco products under a single law that would prohibit promotions and advertising, usage in public areas and use by minors, its health ministry has said.