By Ma. Teresa Montemayor
MANILA – With youth smoking rates in the Philippines doubling in just two years, public health advocates are calling for urgent and targeted enforcement measures to stop the spread of illegal cigarettes and vapes that are fueling a new wave of nicotine addiction among teens.
In a news release on Wednesday, Pinoy Aksyon cited new data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology showing that 4.8 percent of Filipinos aged 10–19 smoked in 2023, up from 2.3 percent in 2021.
Among 18- to 19-year-olds, the rate is almost 14 percent, while vaping among teen smokers soared from 7.5 percent to nearly 40 percent in the same period.
Earlier, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa pointed to the influx of cheap, unregulated nicotine products as the key driver.
Herbosa noted that smoking prevalence declined from 27 percent to 19 percent when cigarette prices were increased.
However, vaping has become more common and more addictive.
Although the Department of Trade and Industry confiscated PHP41 million worth of illegal vapes between January and May 2025, officials admitted that the move barely scratched the surface of what is being sold nationwide.
To date, one in five cigarettes sold nationwide is illicit, often smuggled and sold without health warnings or tax stamps.
Pinoy Aksyon convenor Bencyrus Ellorin said they cost as low as PHP40 per pack, compared to PHP130 for legal brands, making them dangerously accessible to teens.
He noted that the proliferation of illicit cigarettes and vapes despite all the laws is a sign of weak enforcement.
To stop the surge in youth smoking and protect tax revenues, Ellorin called on the national and the local governments to focus enforcement in three areas:
Border Control – Strengthen anti-smuggling operations and customs screening.
Online Sales – Regulate e-commerce platforms where illicit vapes and cigarettes are sold.
Local Action – Support local government units in monitoring stores near schools and in public markets.
Aside from health risks, the government is losing over PHP40 billion in annual tax revenue due to illegal tobacco. These are funds meant to support the Universal Health Care Law.
The FNRI report also revealed that adult smoking has risen to 23.2 percent in 2023, up from 18.5 percent in 2021, reversing years of decline since the Philippines joined the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005.
“The country faces both an overwhelmed health system and a new generation locked into nicotine addiction. We ask the government to look into this crisis deeply and implement laws,” Ellorin said. (PNA)
