Philippines: Group Wants Minimum Age to Buy Cigarettes Raised to 21

Source from:  Sun Star 04/13/2015

Even with laws on higher taxes on tobacco products and graphic health warnings, the New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP) believes that there is still room for the government to protect the youth from the deadly vice of smoking.

NVAP president Emer Rojas said Sunday raising the minimum legal sale age (MLSA) from 18 to 21 will complement other tobacco control policies.
Rojas cited a March 2015 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the United States showing that raising the minimum age to 21 will eventually reduce the smoking rate by about 12 percent and smoking-related deaths by 10 percent.

This would translate to 249,000 fewer premature deaths, 45,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer, and 4.2 million fewer years of life lost in the US alone, the IOM said.

Among the countries that have increased the minimum selling age to 21 are Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Cook Islands, as well as the states of New York, Illinois, Missouri, Massachusetts, and Hawaii in the US.

In the Philippines, only those below 18 years old are prohibited from buying and smoking cigarettes or using any tobacco products.
"These kids will be the so-called 'replacement smokers' for those who died or are sick from tobacco use. Thus, a measure would protect our youth from becoming the next victims would be very welcome," said Rojas.

Based on the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey in the first quarter of 2014, 18 percent of smokers come from the 18 to 24 years old age group. Enditem