OPINION | Why we should raise taxes on vapes By Pia Rodrigo READ:
Despite the great strides we’ve made in preventing Filipinos from smoking, we face a unique new challenge in the form of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems , otherwise known as e-cigarettes or vapes.
E-cigarettes, despite their branding as a “safer” alternative to cigarettes, do cause harm to users. To quote the WHO, “all forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco.” The WHO includes various smokeless tobacco products in their definition of tobacco. To make matters worse, Republic Act 11900 or the Vape Law was passed in July 2022, despite opposition from the medical community, the Department of Health, and the Department of Education. The law loosened vape regulation by lowering the age limit of vaping from 21 to 18 years old, transferring jurisdiction from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Food and Drug Administration , and removing the two-flavor limit.
The bill also introduces taxes on e-cigarette or vape devices. The imposition of a 20% ad valorem and P20 specific tax on vaping devices will act as a market barrier to the consumption of e-cigarettes. There could be several explanations behind the low revenues, including the fact that excise taxes on e-cigarettes are fairly new and our government agencies need time to solve problems of tax leakage and illicit trade. Another factor to take into account is the fact that vapes are proliferated on unregulated online platforms, indicating a greater opportunity for tax leakage.
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