Sin tax helps cut smoking habit

A year into the implementation of the sin tax law, the Department of Health (DOH) saw a marked decline in the number of urban smokers especially among the youth.

“Although we’ve been only a year into the implementation of the sin tax law, we are glad to see a decrease in smoking prevalence among the youth and the poor, the main groups we aimed to protect through the law. Reducing overall prevalence of smoking in the country however, will take some time,” DOH Secretary Enrique Ona told a press conference on Friday.