By the Philippine News Agency and Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
Despite the higher excise taxes on cigarettes, Republic Act (RA) 10351, or the Excise Tax Reform Law of 2012, has failed to considerably reduce smoking incidence, particularly among the youth, Rep. Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona of the Lone District of Romblon said.
“There are no less than 20 million smokers today in the Philippines, the same number of smokers in 2011, prior to the tax increase,” Madrona, chairman of the House Committee on Accounts and author of House Bill 5013 entitled “An Act to Prevent Youth Access to Tobacco by Mandating a Minimum Cigarette Price,” or the minimum cigarette price law, now under consideration by the House Committee on Trade and Industry.
The author noted that in a survey commissioned by the Department of Health, the Social Weather Stations reported that while there was a reduction in cigarette consumption in some socioeconomic classes and age groups, the overall smoking incidence had not significantly decreased since RA 10351 came into effect. Based on the same survey, Madrona said, 45 percent of smokers merely switched to cheaper brands when taxes were increased.
“Undoubtedly, this is due to the proliferation of super cheap or discount brands in the market,” he said, adding that when a cigarette pack or stick is sold very cheap, smokers, including the youth, have easy access to affordable cigarettes, resulting in the lack of change in overall smoking incidence.
Madrona added that under the new tax structure, any cigarette manufacturer that sells products below the tax it pays to the government is not operating in the spirit of achieving the intents of RA 10351, which is to reduce the overall smoking incidence especially among the youth.
The author insisted that while the newly enacted graphic health warning law, or RA 10643, aims to further discourage youth smoking by attaching scary pictures on cigarette packs, it needs to be complemented with some form of price discipline.
“This is because a young smoker needs to buy or have a face-to-face encounter with a graphic-laden cigarette pack before the desired impact of the law is achieved,” Madrona added.
With his proposed minimum-price scheme, Madrona surmised that the mere recitation of the minimum cigarette price would be enough for a young smoker to reconsider and realize that buying cheap is no longer a pocket-friendly option.
Under HB 5013, setting a minimum cigarette price (MCP) per pack of cigarettes will decisively deny youth access to cheap affordable cigarettes and support the beneficial health impact of the excise tax reform law.
1 comment
it’s not proliferation of cheap cigars …grrrr . smokers will smoke because they are smokers, they might reduce the quantity but they will still smoke . what is 5 to 10 pesos increase btw ?
if we are true to our cause then why not ban smoking, no if and but.
is it the health issue or the money from taxes, let us not be hypocrite