MANILA – The proposed rationalization of taxes on cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and heated tobacco products should prioritize protecting young Filipinos from rising nicotine use, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Miro Quimbo said.

Quimbo said the House panel has begun discussions on proposed sin tax reforms under the broader ProGRESS (Promoting Growth, Revenue, and Equity Towards Socio-Economic Sustainability) tax reform package, which seeks to offset potential revenue losses from proposed personal income tax adjustments.

He stressed, however, that the proposed changes are primarily driven by public health concerns.

“[T]his is really a tax measure driven primarily by public health considerations,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo cited preliminary findings from the 2024 Global Youth Tobacco Survey showing that current tobacco use among Filipino youth rose to 16.2 percent in 2024 from 12.5 percent in 2019.

During the same period, electronic cigarette use among young people increased to 26.7 percent, he said.

He also cited previous committee discussions involving data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute indicating that the number of young smokers reportedly doubled to 1 million in 2023 from 500,000 in 2021.

“These data show the need to rationalize the current tax treatment of cigarettes, vapor products, and heated tobacco products, particularly given the disparities in how these products are presently taxed,” Quimbo said.

He said the committee must consider the impact of proposed tax rates not only on youth smoking and nicotine use but also on legitimate industries, tobacco-growing communities, government revenues and the illicit market.

“We need to ask what tax rates will actually achieve our public health objectives,” Quimbo said.

“If rates are set too low, we risk making these products more accessible, particularly to young people. But if rates are set too steeply, we also have to consider whether this could further encourage illicit trade, undermine legitimate industries and tobacco-growing communities, and, eventually, weaken both our health and revenue objectives,” he added.

Quimbo said lawmakers must strike a balance in crafting a new tax structure, with the committee expected to hear from fiscal experts, economists, health advocates and other stakeholders.

“Gaya sa dalawang huling meetings natin, kailangan natin hanapin ang tamang balanse,” he said.

He said the discussions should go beyond determining tax rates and examine the behavior that the tax system seeks to encourage, particularly among the next generation.

“With these proposed sin taxes, we are deciding what behavior our tax system will encourage and what kind of future we want for the next generation of Filipinos,” Quimbo said.