Smoking in Philippines
In the Philippines, tobacco smoking remains a significant public health concern. As of 2024, the current prevalence of smoking among adults aged 15 years and older was estimated to be 19.7%, with a notable gender disparity. The current prevalence of smoking was 35.6% among males and 4.2% among females. The total number of smokers was reported to be approximately 16.3 million individuals in 2024. Comparing these figures to earlier data from 2021, the smoking prevalence among males was 33.3%, while among females it was 3.7%. The adult daily smoking prevalence in 2021 was 14.5%, with a prevalence of 26.3% among males and 2.6% among females. Furthermore, smoking-related mortalities remain a critical public health issue. In 2021, 88,169 deaths were attributed to smoking, accounting for 10% of all deaths in the country in that year. The gender-specific data indicate that smoking-related deaths comprised 13.34% of all male deaths and 5.26% of all female deaths in 2021. These statistics underscore the urgent need for effective public health interventions to address the high smoking rates and associated health consequences in the Philippines.
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November 20, 2023 by inquirer.net
Thailand asked to follow the PH lead in accepting safer tobacco alternatives
A consumer advocate asked the government of Thailand to follow the lead of the Philippines in passing legislation that encourages millions of smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives to prevent deaths and diseases. Asa Saligupta, director of ENDS Cigarette Smoke Thailand (ECST), said Thailand’s ban on smoking alternatives only pushed these products underground, resulting in an unregulated market that deprives the government of revenues and forces consumers to keep on smoking.
October 30, 2023 by inquirer.net
Need for more nuanced messaging on vaping, smoking
The latest Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) shows that 14.1 percent of youth aged 13 to 15 are current vape users. This is a jump from 11 percent in 2015. This modest increase is enough to worry some health advocates, intensifying calls for greater regulation of vaping products. It is certainly the case that these kids should not be touching any sort of smoking or vaping paraphernalia. In that regard, more stringent vaping regulations might be warranted. However, things must be put in perspective when reporting about these trends.
September 14, 2023 by manilatimes.net
Tobacco ban ignored near PH schools – study
TOBACCO and nicotine products sale and advertising still persist within the proximity of schools in the Philippines despite government regulations, a study shows. An observational study conducted by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health also finds that enforcement of the comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship near schools is "one of the most cost-effective and high-impact ways to reduce demand for tobacco
August 08, 2023 by tobaccoreporter.com
Philippines: New Rules for Vape Supplier Imports
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in the Philippines said it will require importers of raw materials for vaping products to seek special clearances to release their shipments. [...] “For vape products, we are going to require them to (apply for) the authority to release imported goods for raw materials,” BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said. “We are thinking of ways to regulate because there are so many vape products now. The production of vape products is a backyard industry, so we’re thinking of ways to regulate it.”
April 24, 2023 by inquirer.net
Youth caught in ‘vape epidemic’: DepEd, CHEd pressed for solution
MANILA, Philippines —Advocacy groups have warned of the “vape epidemic” among young people and urged the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to act since children’s lives are at risk.
The Child Rights Network (CRN) and Parents Against Vape (PAV) believe that the government’s education agencies are best suited to enforce Republic Act 11900’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) implementing rules and regulations.
March 27, 2023 by thephilippinepost.com
Study Reveals Vaping Can Effectively Help Adults Stop Smoking
There is enough evidence that support the use of electronic cigarettes as an aid for smoking cessation in adults, says Kenneth E. Warner, PhD, professor emeritus of Department of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan.
Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are hand-held, battery-operated devices that heat a liquid containing propylene glycol and/or glycerin, flavoring compounds, and typically nicotine to produce an aerosol that users inhale, or vape.
February 06, 2023 by inquirer.net
Senators fume over vape industry’s targeting the youth market, urge DTI to uphold law
Outraged senators on Monday decried the sale of vaping products that are packaged to entice the youth and demanded that the Department of Trade and Industry uphold the law.
During the plenary session, the Senate adopted an unnumbered resolution, which was referred to the Senate committee on sustainable development goals, innovation and futures thinking, chaired by Senator Pia Cayetano.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri proposed the adoption of a resolution as Cayetano delivered a privilege speech on the unregulated selling of vape products targeting minors through its packaging and flavor.
November 29, 2022 by bworldonline.com
Why we should raise taxes on vapes
Over the past decade, the Philippines has achieved a level of international best practice in its tobacco control policies. In 2015, when the number of current smokers went down from 17 million (2009) to 15.9 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) commended the country for achieving the largest number of smokers that quit in a short period of time in the Western Pacific.
Despite the great strides we’ve made in preventing Filipinos from smoking, we face a unique new challenge in the form of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), otherwise known as e-cigarettes or vapes.
November 09, 2022 by filtermag.org
Philippines Vaping Policy Could Be a Model for the Rest of Asia
Amid intensifying debate over the regulation of novel nicotine products, the Philippines—despite being known for the murderous drug war waged by former President Rodrigo Duterte—has charted a regulatory course that could be a template for other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia and beyond.
“For the first time in the legislative history of our country, we have achieved a national differentiated regulatory framework governing vaping products and HTP [heated tobacco products],” said Dr. Lorenzo Mata, a central figure in the Philippine movement for balanced regulation and head of the nonprofit Quit for Good. [...]
October 24, 2022 by tobaccoreporter.com
Philippines Starts Consultation for New Vape Law
The Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will begin consulting the public for the crafting of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the country’s new vape law today, reports ABS-CBN News
“For private stakeholders who have an interest on the crafting of the IRR, they are included, and we will consider all inputs or all comments that were sent,” said DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo.