DOH renews call for vape ban, sin tax hike
During the event held at the Philippine Heart Center, Herbosa reminded the public about the health risks of smoking, such as atherosclerosis, which may lead to heart attacks or strokes.
This, as Herbosa shared that he was previously a smoker but had changed his mind after seeing his father bear the effects of smoking.
'After he died, I decided to go cold turkey… that means I also have the genes to develop lung cancer. If my dad dies of [it], I'm sure I'm going [to get] lung [cancer too], so I went cold turkey,' Herbosa shared.
'Doing cold turkey is not a common thing. I realized mas maraming bumabalik (that there are more people that return)…. We shouldn't hate the people that are smoking. We should hate the people who sell cigarettes and vaping to our children,' he added.
Herbosa said that he will continue to push for the ban on vaping, similar to Singapore and Vietnam.
"I think we should tell them to stop vaping. Bahala na siya what action they will take, because the law prohibits that,' he said.
Health warning
The Health Secretary also called on legislators to prioritize steps in mitigating smoking and recommended the use of plain paper packaging for nicotine products and an increase in sin tax.
'The graphic health warning [in cigarette boxes]… It doesn't help anymore. There are studies in other countries, they found that plain paper packaging was a better option kasi hindi siya attractive (because it wasn't attractive,) so parang walang gusto bumili kasi it's just a box,' Herbosa explained.
'We should also increase the tax. Why? Because the 29% prevalence [of smoking] before went down to 19%. It's [now] back to 24%, plus the people that vape. Yun ang problema eh (that is the problem)," said Herbosa.
Advocacy group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Philippines and the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP), in a statement on Saturday, also urged the congress to implement bills that strip tobacco products of their marketing appeal.
The groups asked legislators to push for plain, uniform brown packaging with 90% graphic warnings on cigarettes.
They also pushed for stricter regulations on Electronic Smoking Devices (ESDs).
'We cannot allow packaging to deceive our youth into addiction… This bill is about saving lives, and we are calling on our new lawmakers to act now. Every day of delay allows the industry to continue targeting children with colorful lies. Standardized Packaging is proven. It works, and it sends a message: no more manipulation, no more lies,' said ASH Philippines Executive Director Dr. Maricar Limpin.
'We see the damage tobacco and vaping cause every day. The lung insults are alarming and spare no one… Standardized packaging will help deglamorize these products and discourage young users before they become our next critical care patients,' added PCCP President Dr. Jubert Benedicto. —Jiselle Anne Caucian/ VAL, GMA Integrated News
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