Neophyte Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao said that he will continue to push for the increase in tax rate imposed on cigarettes through his Senate Bill 1599 for it will not only generate revenue to the government but will reduce smoking prevalence to 19.8 percent by 2020.
“We will benefit from this bill because it will not only give additional finding to the Universal Health Care but can save lives because we can reduce the number of smokers by 1 million,” Pacquiao said in an interview.
He stressed that the bill, once passed, will furthermore save lives, especially of the youth.
“This is a very important bill especially since it will add [revenue] to the budget of Universal Health Care. That is why that is our focus, to have it approve,” he said.
“If we can raise [the tax on tobacco], we can save from P40 [billion] to P60 billion [annually], and reduce the number of smokers by 1 million, and we can save lives,” he added.
He also said that he will continue to fight for P60 cigarette per pack after the House of Representatives approved a bill to increase the tax on every cigarette pack from the current P32.50 to only P37.50 in July 2019.
He also asked his colleagues to continue to support the bill, however, he lamented that the still unfinished hearings on the proposed national budget for 2019 have affected deliberations on his bill.
“But I am determined to push this bill [SB 1599]. I will continue to speak and speak about it and push it,” the hopeful senator said.
He also wished the youth to stay healthy and encouraged them to stay away from smoking.
“Look at me, I am already 40 years old, but God is good, I am healthy,” he said as he shared that he never tried smoking because he hates its smell.
Records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that 28 percent of Filipino adults—that’s a huge 17.3 million people—15 years and older are current smokers of tobacco.
“Almost half [48 percent or 14.6 million] of adult males and 9 percent [2.8 million] of adult females are current smokers. Moreover, 23 percent of Filipino adults are daily tobacco smokers: 38 percent for males and 7 percent males,” the PSA said.
The statistics agency pointed out that Filipinos mainly smoke cigarettes, either manufactured or hand-rolled.
“Cigarettes are smoked by 47 percent of men and 9 percent of women. On the average, male daily smokers consume 11 cigarettes per day while female daily smokers consume seven cigarettes a day,” the PSA said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in the Philippines, the number of deaths related to smoking is at 20,000, and an estimated 10 Filipinos succumb every hour to diseases related to tobacco.
“Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death. It is a prime factor in heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease. It can cause cancer of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, mouth and bladder, and contributes to cancer of the cervix, and kidneys,” the WHO said in Module 5: Promoting Smoke-free Individuals.