Insider Spotlight
A new study suggests stronger tobacco control measures—particularly higher cigarette taxes and larger health warning labels—could significantly accelerate smoking cessation among Filipinos.
The research surveyed adult smokers across the Philippines and found that increasing cigarette taxes and expanding graphic health warnings could influence purchasing decisions and motivate smokers to consider quitting.
Why it matters
More than 13 million Filipinos smoke cigarettes, making tobacco use a significant public health and economic burden. Smoking causes nearly 100,000 preventable deaths in the Philippines each year.
While smoking rates have declined from 27 percent in 2009 to 17.4 percent in 2021, the country still has one of the highest tobacco use rates in the Western Pacific region.
The study surveyed 886 adult smokers from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Participants were shown cigarette packs with different price points, warning label sizes, branding styles, and flavors, then asked which would make them most consider quitting.
Researchers say price increases remain among the most effective tools to reduce smoking.
By the numbers
The study estimates that increasing the excise tax on cigarettes from P69.46 to P90 per pack— a 23-percent increase—could push roughly 5.5 million Filipino smokers to consider quitting.
“If the excise tax on cigarettes were increased to P90 per pack—a 23 percent increase from its current rate—roughly 5.5 million more Filipinos who smoke might consider quitting,” Lauren Czaplicki, PhD, lead author and associate scientist at the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a press statement.
“The price of a pack of cigarettes and what it looks like both inform purchasing decisions, so raising taxes and making graphic warnings large, bold, and difficult to ignore raise the chance that someone will stop smoking or, even better, never start—that’s what makes these two measures so effective at deterring smoking and encouraging people to quit, especially when deployed in tandem.”
The key takeaway
Policy advocates say higher prices create a financial barrier that helps smokers reduce consumption or quit altogether while discouraging new smokers.
“In other words, creating a financial barrier makes quitting easier while making it harder for youth to purchase and consume harmful products—so it’s sound policy for the government to continue imposing higher taxes to make cigarettes less affordable,” said Filomeno Sta. Ana III, executive director of Action for Economic Reforms. —Vanessa Hidalgo | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
