MANILA, 24 June 2003 — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday signed into law a tobacco regulatory act that imposes an absolute sale of all tobacco products to minors and a smoking ban in enclosed public places.
Known as the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, the law prohibits the sale and advertisements of tobacco products within 100 meters from the perimeter of schools and other areas frequented by young people.
It also provides for a phase-out of tobacco advertisements starting Jan. 1, 2007, and a total ban on TV, radio, newspapers and other mass media effective July 1, 2008.
Malaca?ang Palace said the measure affects not only more than 34 million Filipino smokers, but also about 500,000 tobacco farmers mostly in the northern provinces and on Mindoro Island.
Sen. Juan Flavier, a former health secretary and the measure’s main proponent, said it was the support of the tobacco bloc that proved crucial to the passage to the new law.
Rep. Eric Singson of Ilocos Sur province said: “This is the most difficult bill that I co-authored and I did it with a heavy heart because I know the 500,000 farmers that depend on this crop would be affected.”
The Ilocos region accounts for close to 80 percent of Philippine tobacco production, with nearly half of that coming from the province of Ilocos Sur.
Singson and the powerful tobacco bloc finally relented after the government committed to allocate funds to assist tobacco farmers by improving irrigation and helping them shift to other crops such as rice and vegetables. “It’s not the end of the world for the Ilocano farmers because the law also provides them with funding to shift to replacement crops or to explore other uses for tobacco such as pesticides,” Flavier said.
Two other industries affected by the new law, advertising and media, won’t enjoy a similar safety net. Instead, they will have the benefit of a five-year phase-out.
Flavier said another key point of the act requires companies to “print health warnings on the front panel of all packages of tobacco products” otherwise the goods will be confiscated. “We want the warning on the front panel so that people can immediately see it,” he said. “Microscopic warnings are no longer enough.”
He said said the absolute smoking ban in all public places was necessary because partitions, such as those in bars and restaurants, are not effective.
For those who insist on smoking, Flavier added, they “can kill themselves” in the privacy of their homes, cars and offices.
To give teeth to the law, violators of the sale of tobacco products to minors face imprisonment of up to three years and fines of up to 400,000 pesos ($7,500).
The World Health Organization has warned that more and more youths were taking up smoking in the Philippines. Its statistics show more than half of Filipino children aged seven to 17 now smoke — a 150 percent increase since 1987.
According to Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit, studies show that smoking cost the Philippines about 42 billion pesos last year in medical expenses for tobacco-related diseases and loss of productivity alone.
