Tobacco

29 Sep 2026

6:45AM

Tobacco smugglers exploit Philippines-Malaysia maritime routes

The Philippines and Malaysia are emerging as key hubs for transnational illicit tobacco trade in Asia-Pacific as criminal networks exploit regulatory gaps and maritime routes linking markets across Southeast Asia.

23 Sep 2026

2:02PM

JTI brings overseas tobacco processing capability to Batangas

JT International Asia Manufacturing Corp. (JTI-AMC) is expanding the technological capabilities of its Batangas factory with JTI’s first Dry Ice Expanded Tobacco plant (DIET) in Southeast Asia.

17 Aug 2026

11:40AM

ASEAN-wide rules sought to curb illicit tobacco trade

JTI Philippines is calling on Southeast Asian governments to harmonize export rules for high-risk goods as illicit tobacco trade increasingly exploits regulatory gaps between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets.

1 Jun 2026

10:14PM

JTI Philippines buys extra tobacco leaf to ease industry supply glut

The company said the additional procurement is intended to support farmers in Regions 1 and 2 who faced the prospect of financial losses as demand for Philippine tobacco weakened amid a global oversupply.

12 Mar 2026

12:31PM

Higher cigarette taxes could make quitting easier for Filipinos

Financial barriers—particularly higher cigarette taxes—could play a crucial role in helping more Filipinos quit smoking, according to new research published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases.

9 Dec 2025

4:40PM

Philippines urged to tighten online vape marketing to youth

New research from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health warns that online marketing of vapes in the Philippines is echoing the same tactics long used to hook young people on cigarettes, from candy-style flavors to cartoons and party imagery.

4 Mar 2025

9:28AM

Lucio Tan’s tobacco empire faces black market surge as 1 in 5 PH cigarettes may be illegal

The country’s largest manufacturer of cigarettes sounded the alarm on the rising illicit cigarette trade, warning that over one in five cigarettes sold in the Philippines in 2025 could be illegal.