PANAMA CITY — The Philippines joined other countries in pushing for tobacco harm relief as part of methods to mitigate the public health effect of tobacco use at the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) World Tobacco Conference this week.
Delegates from 183 countries, including the Philippines, will gather in Panama for COP 10 to address action on tobacco and advise the future of the WHO FCTC in the fight against the tobacco pandemic, which kills 8. 7 million people worldwide each year.
Principal Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Dominic Guevara, head of the Philippines’ delegation to the Tenth Conference of the Parties (COP 10), said in his presentation that the country passed a law in 2022 to vape and new tobacco products and decrease the harms of smoking.
Guevara highlighted the importance of a multisectoral technique adapted to the implementation of the FCTC, identifying Article 1(d) of the FCTC, other national contexts and priorities, as well as national legislation.
He said the Philippines has made progress in implementing the FCTC, with the Philippines’ Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) showing a decrease in tobacco use from 23. 8% in 2015 to 19. 5% in 2021.
“This key achievement is the result of a collective and balanced approach, with whole-of-society and whole-of-government efforts, to uphold and enforce effective policies and laws,” he said.
Guevara said that in 2022, the Philippines enacted Republic Act No. 11900, or the “Nicotine-Free Nicotine Vaporized Products Regulation Act” for non- and nicotine-based vaporized products (NPNV) and new tobacco products (NTP ).
“This landmark legislation, which targets the harms caused by smoking, establishes a comprehensive and differentiated regulatory framework for the import, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of nicotine and non-nicotine vaporized products, as well as other new tobacco products,” he said.
The law safeguards minors by restricting the sale, including online trade, distribution, and marketing of VNNPs or NTPs, and prohibits tobacco product-related activities within 100 meters of schools, playgrounds, and facilities frequented by minors, he said.
Guevara said this is in addition to legislative measures already in place in the Philippines, such as the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, the Graphic Health Warnings Act, and excise tax legislation on new tobacco products.
The Philippines will continue to engage constructively in discussing and collaborating with other components of this convention to overcome demanding situations such as achieving the objectives of the convention, as part of our unwavering commitment to the WHO FCTC, he said.
Guevara said excise taxes on tobacco and vapor products, which reached nearly $3 billion in 2022, helped fund essential government services including the majority of universal healthcare and COVID-19 recovery initiatives as well as infrastructure projects such as farm-to-market roads, schools, hospitals, and rural health facilities.
He said that in accordance with Article 6 of the FCTC, since the enactment of the applicable law in 2012, the Philippines has been expanding excise duty rates on cigarettes and tobacco products, making cigarettes less affordable and consequently reducing consumption.
The Philippines is also in the process of enacting a new legislation entitled “Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act” that declares the smuggling of tobacco as economic sabotage and aims to abate illicit tobacco trade in the Philippines, he said.
In addition, the head of the New Zealand delegation was also strongly in favour of damage repair, pointing to the very significant drop in the smoking rate to 6. 8 per cent from 8. 6 per cent last year and 16. 4 per cent in 2011-2012, with his technique also involving the implementation of evidence-based damage reparation measures.
“We are proud of this progress and how close we are to achieving our goal of a smoke-free environment of less than five percent percent. We’ve achieved this through a combination of measures passed through the FCTC, adding regulations, network initiatives, and aimed at quitting smoking. Our technique also involved the considered implementation of evidence-based harm relief measures,” said the head of the New Zealand delegation.
The head of the New Zealand delegation said his technique included making a variety of nicotine replacement products for smokers, adding healing products such as patches, chewing gum and smoking cessation medications. smoke.
“We have regulated vaping products under our smoke-free legislation. This has included restrictions on where they can be sold and who can sell them, advertising and sponsorship bans, bans on vaping and smoke-free spaces, and bans on selling to those who are under the age of 18,” she said.
He said, however, that despite low smoking rates among all groups of New Zealanders, smoking rates among Māori, low-income people, adults with disabilities and others with intellectual misery and addiction problems are higher than those of others.
“To achieve 5 percent daily smoking rates for all population, we will continue to be ambitious and deliberate. In addition to our existing evidence-based tobacco control strategies, we are focused on providing people with practical tools and support to help them become smoke-free. We are investing in support for people who smoke including collaboratively-designed public health campaigns and targeted stop smoking services,” she said.
“New Zealand is proud to be a party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the parties’ continued commitment to reducing the harm caused by tobacco products,” he said.