Smoking rate in Filipino adults drops to 19.5%: GATS 2021

According to the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), the current prevalence of tobacco use and smoking among Filipinos aged 15 and above has decreased to 19.5% or 15.1 million people.

During a news forum on Tuesday, Dr. Vito Roque Jr. of the Epidemiology Bureau of the Department of Health (DOH) reported that the prevalence of the disease is lower than that of 2015 which was 23.8%, and even lower than the 29.7% prevalence reported in 2009.

According to Roque, exposure to secondhand smoke in households and public places has significantly decreased, with the largest decline observed in public transportation where exposure dropped from 55.3% in 2009 and 37.6% in 2015, to 12.2% in 2021.

The proportion of people exposed to secondhand smoke at home has decreased from 54.4% in 2009 and 34.7% in 2015 to 21.4% in 2021. Similarly, the proportion of those exposed in the workplace has decreased from 22.6% in 2009 and 21.5% in 2015 to 12.9% in 2021.

According to the survey, the smoking cessation rate of smokers (or those who reported smoking within the past 12 months) in the country has decreased from 4.5% in 2009 to 3.9% in 2021.

However, the number of adult smokers considering quitting smoking due to health warnings has increased from 37.4% in 2009 to 43.7% in 2021.

From 2009 to 2021, the major achievements demonstrate that the national tobacco control work has made positive progress. The results reveal that the prevalence of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke have been consistently declining," stated Rock.

Successes can be attributed to the adoption and implementation of tobacco prevention and control policies and interventions. These outcomes also reflect the effectiveness of key policies implemented, such as tobacco taxes, graphic health warnings, protecting bureaucratic institutions from tobacco industry interference, and creating smoke-free environments," he added.

He also stated that collective efforts and strengthened partnerships between government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and stakeholders have facilitated these results.

Result in 2021

According to the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey, one in every five Filipino adults, or 15.1 million adults, currently use tobacco. Of those individuals, the proportion of males (34.7%) who currently use tobacco is eight times higher than that of females (4.2%).

This means that the number of smokers has decreased by 2.2 million from the total of 17.3 million in 2002.

Meanwhile, currently, there are at least 11.2 million adults who smoke daily, which is approximately 14.5% of the adult population. Daily smoking among men (26.3%) is almost nine times higher than among women (3.6%).

On average, daily smokers consume 10.5 cigarettes per day, with men smoking an average of 10.8 cigarettes per day, and women smoking an average of 6.7 cigarettes per day.

According to a survey, the overall prevalence of e-cigarette use among adults was 5.7%, while the current usage rate stands at 2.1%.

It also indicated that in 2021, one out of every five Filipino adults or 22.3% of daily smokers quit smoking. The proportion of female ex-smokers was 34.2%, significantly higher than males at 20.9%.

More than half or 54.5% of people visited healthcare providers and admitted to smoking, and were advised to quit.

Smokers state that the reasons for attempting to quit smoking include health concerns (77.9%), financial savings (68.6%), family (68.1%), high cigarette prices (68%), anti-smoking policies (37.3%), concerns about COVID-19 (29.1%), and other reasons (3.7%).

Increase tobacco tax.

According to a report released by Maki Pulido on Tuesday on "24 Oras," the number of smokers has decreased as cigarette prices have increased.

In 2009, when a pack of cigarettes cost 30 pesos, there were 17.3 million adult smokers. As the price increased to 60 pesos per pack, the number decreased to 15.9 million. By 2021, with cigarettes priced at P100 per pack, the number of smokers had decreased to 15.1 million.

The number of adult smokers wishing to quit smoking due to the increase in cigarette prices has risen from 55.6% in 2015 to 68% in 2021.

I don't have enough budget; I will only end up using what I earn for cigarettes. I still need to buy rice and food, but things are slow. It's all just debts now," said former smoker Reynaldo Cabarrubias.

According to the Department of Health, more than 100,000 Filipinos die from smoking-related diseases every year.

Every year, at least 200 billion pesos are spent on funding drug treatments and programs for these illnesses.

Health experts are also calling for the implementation of another law to increase cigarette taxes.

If you look at the TRAIN law, the highest increase in its rates is around P60 and will be implemented by 2023, which is next year. After that, there will be no more increases. That is why now is the right time to push for another legislation to further increase revenue," said Dr. Maricar Limpin, former president of the Philippine Medical Association.

Rock hopes to continue implementing progressive tax measures on tobacco, vaping, and heated tobacco products by using a tax index based on the inflation rate.

He stated his support for the implementation of a consumption tax on the transport devices of new tobacco products, as well as vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products.

He also stated that it is necessary to modify national legislation to prohibit smoking and e-cigarette use in enclosed public spaces, as well as any establishments frequented by minors.

Rock then called for a comprehensive national treatment plan targeting tobacco and electronic cigarette dependence to be strengthened and institutionalized.

Wilma S. Guillen, assistant national statistician at the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), stated that GATS is a standardized global survey used to systematically monitor adult tobacco use and track key tobacco control indicators.

She stated that this is a nationally representative household survey targeting adult males and females aged 15 and above, utilizing a consistent standard protocol across various countries including the Philippines.

GATS has improved the ability of nations to plan, implement and evaluate tobacco control programs. It will also assist countries in fulfilling their obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, by generating comparable data within and across countries," she said.

Jillan stated that the 2021 GATS has identified at least 20,671 households throughout the country. She added that she visited each of the sample households and listed their family members.

The on-site work for GATS in 2021 was conducted in coordination with the regional and provincial office committees of PSA.

The GATS ground operation will take place from November 3 to December 4, 2021, for a period of 28 days, and will involve oversampling in five selected cities, namely Biyao City, Kuisong City, Santos General City, Cebu City, and Sanbao Yan City.

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