Philippines/Bangkok, 24 January 2020: The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) welcomes new taxes on electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) signed into law by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on 22 January 2020 to protect the health of all Filipinos especially the youth and the poor.
“E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are harmful, promote youth addiction, and reduce the success of smokers wanting to quit their addiction. New taxes on these products are a win for the health of all Filipinos, particularly the youth, but while the new tax rates are certainly higher than rates approved by the previous Congress, they should be raised further to at least the same level as traditional cigarettes,” said Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, Executive Director of SEATCA.
The 2018 National Nutrition Survey already shows that 20 percent of e-cigarette users in the Philippines are aged 10 to 19 years old. This proportion of youth e-cigarette smokers is 3 times higher than the proportion of youth cigarette smokers.
Currently, the tobacco epidemic claims more than 117,000 lives in the Philippines annually and over 8 million lives globally every year. The government should act proactively to prevent a new epidemic before it takes root, one that threatens to prolong rather than end the current tobacco epidemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has already warned that all forms of tobacco, including HTPs, are harmful and that e-cigarettes are undoubtedly harmful. More than 40 countries already ban the sale of e-cigarettes and HTPs, including four ASEAN countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand.
Coupled with a higher tax on alcohol products, taxes on e-cigarettes and HTPs will make the tax reforms overwhelmingly pro-youth, pro-poor and pro-health.
Contact:
Wendell C Balderas, Media and Communications Manager – SEATCA
Email: wendell@seatca.org | Mobile: +63 999 881 2117 ##
Related Links
- Duterte signs law increasing taxes on alcohol, e-cigarettes – https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1218422/duterte-signs-law-imposing-additional-sin-taxes
- Cigarette smoking kills; vaping e-cigarettes kills, too. – https://seatca.org/dmdocuments/SEATCA-Briefing-paper-on-ENDS-and-HTPS_25Oct2019.pdf
- E-cigarettes ‘undoubtedly harmful’ says WHO – https://technology.inquirer.net/89438/p2fb-who-says-e-cigarettes-undoubtedly-harmful
About SEATCA
SEATCA is a multi-sectoral non-governmental alliance promoting health and saving lives by assisting ASEAN countries to accelerate and effectively implement the tobacco control measures contained in the WHO FCTC. Acknowledged by governments, academic institutions, and civil society for its advancement of tobacco control in Southeast Asia, the WHO bestowed on SEATCA the World No Tobacco Day Award in 2004 and the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Award in 2014.
