Scrapping of smoking ban in Tagaytay scored
By Philip C. Tubeza
Health advocates on Tuesday slammed the decision of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) of Cavite to scrap the smoking ban in Tagaytay City.
Health advocates on Tuesday slammed the decision of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) of Cavite to scrap the smoking ban in Tagaytay City.
New Zealand announced plans Tuesday to force tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in plain packaging, becoming only the second country in the world after Australia to introduce the measure.
Pictures speak louder than words. Health advocates are pushing anew for graphic health warnings (GHWs) on cigarette packs, citing a new Harvard study which showed that pictures are more powerful than words in warning people, especially minority groups, about the dangers of smoking.
Could cigarette retailers be actually doing sin tax supporters a favor and encouraging more smokers to quit sooner?
Still dying for a smoke? Either you kick the habit now or you chew gum for a week. Hopefully by then, your favorite stick will be back in the market—except that it will cost you more.
Cigarette smokers continue to find it hard to buy their favorite brands here and in other parts of Southern Mindanao as of Thursday as most wholesalers and retailers claim there was still scarcity of supply.
Erico Santos, 45, who sells cigarettes under a footbridge on Buendia Avenue in Pasay City, fears the new “sin tax” law that raised the prices of cigarettes may leave him with the short end of the stick, so to speak.
A “sin tax” on cigarettes and alcohol—part of a government bid to boost finances—dampened the New Year spirit when it took effect throughout the country Tuesday in the midst of celebrations.
In signing Republic Act 10351, commonly known as the “sin tax” law, President Noy said its first year of implementation would “liberate more Filipinos from the vices of smoking and drinking.”
The states of Washington and Colorado legalized possession of small amounts of marijuana in the November elections, but it is unclear if any cigarette makers plan to supply either market.
Are smuggled cigarettes flooding the Philippine market in anticipation of the sharp increase in tobacco and alcohol taxes?
Expect some “hard bargaining” between senators and congressmen over the amount of excise tax to be imposed on alcohol products when Senate and House representatives meet to reconcile their versions of the sin tax bill.
With the “sin tax” bill having cleared the Senate, the sin tax debate now moves to the bicameral conference committee with legislators hoping to bridge the P8.5-billion revenue gap between the Senate and House versions of the bill seeking to raise alcohol and tobacco taxes before the end of the year.
