Tuesday, September 23, 2025

New Health czar asked: Support tobacco control efforts

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TOBACCO control advocates yesterday said they are hopeful newly-appointed Health Secretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa will boost programs meant to curb smoking and e-cigarette use in the country.

In a joint statement, the HealthJustice Philippines, Parents Against Vape, Action for Economic Reforms and Philippine Legislator’s Committee on Population and Development said Herbosa should support strong tobacco control efforts, including increased funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs and stronger regulation of e-cigarette use.

They said that doing so would help reduce cases of tobacco-related diseases.

“We have great confidence in Secretary Ted Herbosa’s leadership to address pressing issues of DOH, and the health sector, including the tobacco epidemic in the Philippines, to achieve a healthy country,” the group said.

They recalled that Herbosa, during his stint as DOH undersecretary under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, was very active as a proponent of six tax measures on tobacco products.

Republic Act 10351 or the Sin Tax Law was passed in 2013.

They also cited Herbosa’s remarks in a media forum during the commemoration of World No Tobacco Day last month where he underscored the need for a “smoke-free future” for a “healthier, happier Philippines” as another sign that he will push for stronger measures against cigarette and e-cigarette smoking.

The DOH has been persistently warning Filipinos about the harmful effects of smoke and emissions from tobacco products, vapor products, and heated tobacco products.

The controversial Vape Bill lapsed into law last year, regulating the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use, and communication of vape products and novel tobacco products in the country.

The 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey showed that tobacco use and smoking among Filipinos aged 15 and above decreased in that year to 19.5 percent of the total population, or around 15 million Filipinos.

The survey also showed an increase — from 37.4 percent in 2009 to 43.7 percent in 2021 — in the number of adult smokers who want or think of quitting.

However, it also showed that the quit rate among those who have reported smoking within the last 12 months in the country decreased to 3.9 percent in 2021 from 4.5 percent in 2009.

An earlier survey showed that 14.1 percent of schoolchildren smoke e-cigarettes and 20.9 percent of boys polled also used e-cigarettes compared to 7.5 percent for girls in the same age group.

The Global Youth Tobacco Survey said one in seven Filipino students, or one in five boys and one in 10 girls also used e-cigarettes.

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