Holistic strategy on regulation, education, community engagement, law enforcement vs illicit tobacco trade

Holistic strategy on regulation, education, community engagement, law enforcement vs illicit tobacco trade

BAGUIO CITY (March 22, 2025) -- The tobacco industry regulatory body National Tobacco Administration (NTA) is pushing for a holistic approach that involves government and other sectors to combat illicit tobacco trade in the country.

Administrator and CEO Belinda S. Sanchez of the NTA said, the increasing trend of the illicit tobacco trade had been found to be one of the causes of the gradual decline in the demand for locally produced tobacco.  If it continues further, she feared, it will adversely affect the livelihood of 2.2 million Filipinos who are financially dependent on tobacco, including more than 430,000 farmers, farm workers, and their family members.

“We need a holistic approach via a multi-faceted approach that combines regulation, education, community engagement, and law enforcement, with the collaboration of the concerned private sectors, we can develop a doable strategy not only to combat illicit tobacco trade but also to promote sustainable practices within the tobacco industry,” Sanchez cited.

Recent years data on illicit tobacco trade underscores a troubling trend, the NTA noted, citing a Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) study that notes that while the smoking prevalence among adults increased from 2021 to 2023, the excise tax collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) declined.

Data from the FNRI and the BIR also showed that adult smoking prevalence increased from 19% in 2021 to 24.4% in 2023, while the tobacco excise tax collections dropped from P176 billion in 2021 to P134 billion in 2024, Sanchez showed.

These reports from FNRI and BIR, according Sanchez can largely be attributed to the alarming growth of illicit tobacco trade, which has undermined legitimate cigarette sales and in turn, reduced government revenue collection and demand for locally produced tobacco leaf.

The NTA is supporting other proposed measures to address illicit tobacco trade such as strengthening collaboration between law enforcement agencies and Local Government Units (LGUs), imposing a unified tax rate on all vapor products, convening the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Council, enhancing enforcement against e-marketplaces, and improving prosecution and conviction rates by the Bureau of Customs and BIR.

Sanchez also cited that the Anti- Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law is a landmark legislation and a testament of commitment of all concerned government agencies to protecting the farmers and their local production.