By Allysa Nievera Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said increasing the excise tax will be the most effective way to lessen consumption of alcohol and tobacco products. Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo
(RTVM / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) “The most effective way of decreasing the uptake and the use of tobacco and alcohol is still increasing price” said Domingo in an interview with ANC on Friday. “Every time you increase the price of the sin products, tobacco, alcohol, vapes… the usage decreases the prevalence rate decreases, especially discourages young people from taking up the habit” he added. Domingo also said increasing excise tax is a win-win solution to generate money for the universal health care and discouraging the public to use sin products. “Yung experience natin when we raised sintaxes in 2012 talagang bumaba… we had smoking at 30%... it went down at about 23-24 well at the same time generating about 70 billion pesos of money every year. So it’s a win win solution” he said. “We decrease the people who indulge in these habits and at the same time we get money for funding our insurance, for funding our benefits, for health care.” he added. Domingo also said they wanted rates of vape be the sama as conventional cigarettes. “We definitely want them to be the same rates as conventional cigarettes kasi initially they put it at a lower rate because it’s a safer alternative daw” he said. “that’s absolutely not true…This products are also harmful if you want to be healthy then don’t use them but if you’re going to use them then we want them to be taxed exactly the same rate as a regular cigarette.” he added.