Smoking Rate Declines in the Philippines
GMA News Online, citing results from the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), reported that tobacco use among Filipinos aged 15 and above fell to 19.5% by 2021. Vito Roque Jr. of the Department of Health's Epidemiology Bureau attributed the decline to
GMA News Online reported results from the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), indicating that by 2021, the tobacco use rate among Filipinos aged 15 and older had dropped to 19.5%.
Vito Roque Jr. from the Department of Health (DOH) attributed the decline to the adoption and implementation of tobacco prevention and control health policies and interventions. "The results also reflect the effectiveness of key policies implemented in areas such as tobacco taxation, graphic health warnings, protecting bureaucracies from tobacco industry interference, and smoke-free environments," he added.
The rise in cigarette prices may also have played a role. In 2009, the average price of a pack of cigarettes in the Philippines was 30 Philippine pesos (0.54 USD). By 2021, this figure had increased to PHP100 per pack.
According to the 2021 GATS results, one-fifth of Filipino adults, or 15.1 million adults, currently use tobacco, with the proportion of male users (34.7%) being eight times that of female users (4.2%).
Meanwhile, there are currently at least 11.2 million adults who smoke daily, accounting for approximately 14.5% of the adult population. The proportion of daily male smokers (26.3%) is nearly nine times that of daily female smokers (3.6%).
Daily smokers consume an average of 10.5 cigarettes per day, with males averaging 10.8 cigarettes and females averaging 6.7 cigarettes.
The survey shows that the overall prevalence of adults who have ever used e-cigarettes among all adults is 5.7%, while the current use of e-cigarettes stands at 2.1%.
