ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 26 July) —The average monthly expenditure for cigarettes in the Philippines is 1,273.90 Philippine pesos, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in its 2021 research the results of which were released this year.
Dr. Ivy Rozeth Iturralde, Zamboanga City Health Office epidemiologist said in an interview that this figure is lower compared to the results in Baguio and Quezon Cities where smokers spent monthly an average of P1,612.90 and P1,520, respectively.
Iturralde said the amount is P1,115.30 in General Santos City, P1,318.70 in Cebu City, and P698.00 in Zamboanga City.
She presented the results of the GATS during a workshop among local stakeholders as part of a 3-day capacity-building activity initiated by her office and funded by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In a separate interview, Dr. Florante Trinidad, National Professional Officer from the Office of the WHO Representative in the Philippines, explained that the GATS was conducted in 2009, 2015, and in 2021 in the five cities. However, it was only in the 2021 survey that Zamboanga City participated.
Trinidad said the P698 amount for Zamboanga City has to be contextualized, as it may be because of the “existence of illicit trade,” causing low sales reports in regulated cigarettes.
“GATS is the global standard for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use whether smoking and smokeless, and tracking key tobacco control indicators,” Iturralde said, adding that it does the “nationally representative survey, using a consistent and standard protocol across countries including the Philippines. “
Trinidad explained further that comparison of the surveys in 2009, 2015, and 2021 was done, as the GATS enhances the Philippines and other countries in fulfilling their obligations under the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to generate comparable data within and across counties.
The three surveys done in the Philippines all employed multistage stratified cluster sample designs to produce nationally representative data, Trinidad said.
“The WHO FCTC contains MPOWER, which is a package of six evidence –based demand reduction measures,” Iturralde said.
She said the WHO FCTC through MPOWER, monitors tobacco use and prevention policies, protects people from tobacco smoke, offers help to quit tobacco use, warns about the dangers of tobacco, enforces bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, and raises taxes on the item.
GATS as a household survey collected data on persons 15 years old and above.
WHO noted that between the years 2015 and 2021, the Philippines enacted three laws that resulted in higher tobacco taxes: Republic Act No. 10351, RA No. 10963, and RA No. 11346.
In addition, the Office of the President, the Civil Service Commission, and other agencies introduced policies in support of promoting smoke-free environments in government offices, schools and other public places.
For their part, local governments passed comprehensive tobacco control ordinances and made them compliant with the WHO FCTC.
In 2019, the Department of Health launched the Red Orchid Awards for 100% Tobacco-Free Environments, which further enhanced the implementation of the ordinances. (Frencie Carreon/MindaNews)
