00:00 Well, it's been a decade, over a decade, since the Sint Tax Law was passed.
00:04 How effective has it been in discouraging Filipinos from smoking?
00:08 Institute for Leadership, Empowerment and Democracy, or ILEAD researcher, Ken Abante,
00:13 joins us now in the studio.
00:15 Ken, great to have you with us.
00:16 So with this rise in Sint taxes, particularly for tobacco prices a decade ago,
00:22 has it discouraged more of our Cababayans from smoking?
00:25 Yes, Rico, it has.
00:28 Smoking prevalence has actually gone down by a third over the past decade,
00:35 from around nearly 30% to now around 18%.
00:39 The same for young people.
00:41 All right, we've seen a reduction, so why does ILEAD still believe
00:46 that there is still room for an increase in tobacco taxes?
00:51 Yes, our findings suggest, according to the World Health Organization,
00:55 we still have, you know, tobacco still remains affordable from an absolute basis.
01:04 You know, a pack of cigarettes costs 100 pesos, like around, in 2020,
01:10 it's just around 5 pesos per stick, which means it's still affordable.
01:15 Well, that's our economy, the tingi-tingi economy.
01:18 That's right, Rico.
01:19 There's also...
01:20 Instead of buying the whole pack, they would just buy one cigarette off a vendor off the street.
01:26 There's also a World Health Organization recommendation saying that the tax share
01:32 as a percent of retail price should be around 75% to really discourage people from smoking.
01:38 And the reason for this is so that people don't have the burden of disease,
01:42 you know, having to spend that much for illnesses that are caused by smoking,
01:48 from lung disease to different types of heart ailments,
01:53 among other things that health advocates have pushed for.
01:56 Because according to the numbers, Ken, the Philippines already ranks first in Southeast Asia
02:01 in terms of taxing tobacco as a means of discouraging smoking.
02:06 But of course, not all Filipinos buy the pack, which is of course expensive,
02:12 and you break it down, you have it only at 5 pesos per stick.
02:16 So should that be eliminated, that tingi-tingi purchasing?
02:20 Yeah, Rico, it's honestly very hard to regulate that.
02:25 But global studies show that taxation remains the most cost-effective means to discourage smoking,
02:34 and that's why many health advocates believe that and support tobacco taxes.
02:39 And by how much more should a pack of cigarettes be increased?
02:46 So we don't have a number per se, but because of the World Health Organization recommendations,
02:53 again, the tax share as a percent of retail price is currently at 56%,
02:58 and the World Health Organization's health advisory believes it should be around 75%.
03:04 So even if we scored high in terms of that tobacco-nomics scorecard,
03:13 we still rank low in tax share, we still rank low in terms of affordability,
03:16 and tobacco use actually remains to be the top one risk factor
03:22 for causing the most death and disability in the country,
03:26 according to the international health metrics, global health metrics.
03:31 There's still a lot of upside, right, from 56 to 75%.
03:35 That's right.
03:35 And by increasing that, that means more revenues as well for the government.
03:41 But is this a priority, do you think, of our lawmakers?
03:44 Because they will have to make the changes to increase the price of tobacco.
03:51 We certainly hope it's a priority since according to, again, it's still the top factor
03:59 causing the most death and disability in the country.
04:04 So we believe it should be in the priorities.
04:07 Our findings certainly suggest that. The health advocates we've spoken to certainly believe that.
04:13 But have you spoken to lawmakers on both aisles, the lower house and in the Senate,
04:20 to encourage them to increase taxes once again,
04:25 to discourage more of our kababayans from smoking?
04:30 So there's a coalition that does that.
04:33 I guess from our point of view as researchers, we provide the evidence as to where it currently stands.
04:41 And that's what the current evidence is.
04:44 Are you getting any traction?
04:45 I mean, there's a coalition to support an increase in taxes, especially for tobacco.
04:52 Are we seeing any supporters from our lawmakers?
04:55 Currently, it's honestly a struggle at the moment, Rico.
05:00 And especially with...
05:01 It's not a priority.
05:03 And especially since there's also a trend of increasing e-cigarette use.
05:09 There you go. Vaping.
05:11 Yes, vaping.
05:11 I see that a lot now on the streets, especially among the youth.
05:15 Exactly.
05:16 Teenagers vaping.
05:18 Yes. And even 13 to 15 year olds, 14% of them are current vape users,
05:23 even if they're not supposed to have access to these products.
05:29 And there's already emerging evidence, according to the World Health Organization,
05:33 that we should protect our children from the potential harmful effects of e-cigarette.
05:40 Okay. When you talk about harmful effects, what's more harmful?
05:43 The stick or the vape?
05:46 So there's a principle in health called the precautionary principle.
05:52 So they say, if you vape, well, oops, I'm better off. I'm much better off, right?
06:00 Instead of smoking with a stick.
06:02 So that's what industry says.
06:05 You know, harm reduction is their main argument.
06:08 They say that.
06:09 However, I honestly do not have the expertise to judge.
06:14 I am not a...
06:15 You're not a doctor.
06:16 I'm not a doctor.
06:17 I cannot answer that question, Rico.
06:20 But what I can tell you is that the World Health Organization has said that it's, you know, it's raising alarm bells.
06:27 It's also dangerous.
06:28 It has physical and mental effects.
06:31 And taxes also have to be increased for e-cigarettes.
06:34 Yes. So there was a law that was passed in 2020 or 2021 that imposed taxes on e-cigarettes.
06:45 However, there was also a recent study and a survey that said more than half of those surveyed online vape stores did not have prices,
06:56 had prices that were actually lower than their excise tax due.
06:59 So meaning there appears to be some tax administration concerns.
07:03 But you know, the bottom line is we have to have stronger tax administration.
07:06 That's right.
07:07 In terms of collecting taxes.
07:08 And if we raise those taxes, then I'm sure it will encourage some of our lawmakers to raise taxes for tobaccos once again.
07:17 Thank you so much for joining us on The Final Word.
07:21 Ken Abante from the Institute for Leadership, Empowerment and Democracy.
07:24 Merry Christmas.
07:25 Merry Christmas, Rico. Thank you.
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