Philippines torn between tobacco control and industry collaboration

While the Department of Trade and Industry is calling on heated tobacco manufacturers to set up shop in the Philippines, the Department of Health is pushing for stronger anti-smoking laws in the Western Visayas region. This contradiction seems to be playing out to the detriment of public health.

Following the International Tobacco Agriculture Summit held in Taguig City on August 2, 2023, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo appealed to heated tobacco manufacturers to set up their production units in the Philippines[1].

This invitation is based on two arguments:

• Local demand for cigarettes is expected to fall by 25 billion between 2022 and 2027, from 49.6 billion to 39.1 billion cigarettes, while sales of heated tobacco are expected to increase by 511 billion over the same period, according to an analysis by Euromonitor.
• Production in the Philippines would benefit from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) free trade agreements. These tariff advantages currently allow the Philippines to be a major supplier of tobacco products to South Korea, Thailand and Myanmar.

Ceferino Rodolfo also announced that Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco, a local subsidiary of Philip Morris International (PMI), is set to establish a production site for its heated tobacco device IQOS in Tanauan.

Very common respiratory and pulmonary pathologies

Meanwhile, on August 3, 2023, the Department of Health (DOH) of the Western Visayas region requested that local government units strengthen anti-smoking laws, in the context of the National Lung Month that is being held during this month of August.[2]In 2021, respiratory and pulmonary diseases accounted for three out of ten deaths and five out of ten major pathologies in this region.

Among the actions that should be undertaken most quickly, the DOH of this region aims in particular to respect the ban on smoking and vaping in public places, and its extension, outside, to 10 meters from places of passage and gathering. The ban on the sale of tobacco products within 100 meters of a school establishment and the ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship for tobacco products are also among the measures considered priorities.

A choice in favour of tobacco manufacturers, despite article 5.3

The opposition between the Ministries of Health and those of Industry or Agriculture on the issue of tobacco is recurrent in many countries, particularly in those that are tobacco producers. The Philippine authorities are not only not immune to this contradiction, but seem to have already decided in favor of the tobacco industry, as suggested by the law on new tobacco and nicotine products adopted in April 2022. This law placed heated tobacco products under the responsibility of the DIT, which Senator Pia Cayenato – one of the few voices to oppose it – had denounced as being inappropriate.

The government's choice to transfer the scope of heated tobacco products to the Ministry of Industry reflects a low interest in public health and weakens the position of the Ministry of Health within the government. However, it places the country in a difficult position with regard to Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires that public health policies not be influenced by the tobacco industry. Indeed, this obligation is not limited to the Ministry of Health, but encompasses any government or public action that affects tobacco, whether heated, chewed, inhaled or smoked.

In France, the Interministerial Mission to Combat Drugs and Addictive Behavior (MILDECA) had estimated that heated tobacco could not be considered an alternative to smoked tobacco, "the substances inhaled during its use are the same as those in conventional tobacco, even if the concentrations of toxic substances are lower than in smoked tobacco."

Keywords: Philippines, heated tobacco, IQOS, PMI, respiratory and pulmonary diseases, article 5.3.

MF

[1] Manila Rolls Out Red Carpet for HTP Makers, Tobacco Reporter, published August 3, 2023, accessed August 7, 2023.

[2] Lena P, Comprehensive tobacco control ordinance urged in Western Visayas, Philippines News Agency, published August 3, 2023, accessed August 7, 2023.