Bloomberg recognizes PH’s tobacco control at Abu Dhabi global confab
The Philippine government has been recognized by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for its tobacco control initiatives.
At the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Abu Dhabi, philanthropist Michael R. Bloomberg, announced that the Philippines is one of six honorees in the fight against the global tobacco epidemic.
Under the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ MPOWER method, the Philippines’ initiative against tobacco has been considered as most effective means to lessen smoking incidence in a country.
Bloomberg Philanthropies particularly recognized the Department of Finance (DOF) and Department of Health (DOH) under the “R” category of its MPOWER awards.
The DOF and DOH were cited for their instrumental role in the passage of the 2012 Sin Tax Law, which according to Bloomberg Philanthropies “greatly simplified the tax system, introduced higher excise rates, and indexed the tax rate to an inflation proxy of 4 percent annually after 2017.”
“This reform would not have been possible without the full support of Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, who had the political will to counter vested interests and strong lobbies to achieve what is best for the country’s health and future,” Finance Undersecretary Jeremias N. Paul, Jr., said.
“With good governance, what we once thought was impossible is now possible: in more ways than one, the Philippines is no longer the sick man of Asia,” he added.
In the first two years of implementation, Sin Tax Reform has generated an additional 102 billion to finance the country’s universal health care and health infrastructure programs. Eighty percent of this amount is accounted for by tobacco taxes.
Moreover, for the first time in three decades, the country’s adult smoking prevalence has declined below the 30 percent level according to a study by Dr. Antonio Dans using data from the country’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute’s National Nutrition Health Survey (FNRI).
Dr. Dans noted that adult smoking prevalence declined from 31 percent in 2008 to 25.4 percent in 2013 due to sin tax reform, there are 3.2 million less smokers today, averting an approximate 32,000 smoking-related deaths.
The Philippines is one of few countries leading a global paradigm shift in recognizing the need for finance and health ministries to constructively engage and in leveraging innovative ways and means to improve sustainable health financing.
The 2012 Sin Tax Law produced a clear win for fiscal health, with the share of total tobacco and alcohol excise tax collections amounting to 0.9 percent of the economy for 2013 and 2014, the highest since 2000.
It was also delivered decisively for public health, with funding for the DOH increasing 57 percent in 2014 and 63.2 percent in 2015 over 2013 levels, from 53.3 billion to 83.7 billion in 2014 and 87.0 billion in 2015.