Government agencies should intensify enforcement efforts and pursue convictions of those involved in the illegal tobacco trade, as smoking prevalence in the Philippines worsened between 2021 and 2023 amid rampant illicit trade.

A senator made the call during a hearing conducted by the panel to investigate the decline in tobacco excise tax collection.

“If no one is jailed, no one is afraid. If no one is afraid, the illegal activity will continue. And the profit margin can be as high as three times or even four times. So conviction is very important,” the senator said.

“We can hold hearings here every day, but if we don’t put people in jail, nothing will really happen,” he added.

The legislator said smoking prevalence rose despite the imposition of higher tobacco excise tax rates. However, data show that the government’s actual excise tax revenue collection fell in recent years.

“This is a cause of concern that has triggered this hearing. We saw a reversal [in smoking prevalence] after 2021. For six years, we reduced smoking prevalence. But in two years, we’re back to square one,” he added.

Based on the report of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, the country’s smoking prevalence increased from 14.6 percent in 2021 to 18.9 percent in 2023.

He said that during the same period, tobacco excise tax collection slipped from P176.49 billion in 2021 to P134.91 billion in 2023.

Data from Kantar and Euromonitor revealed that illicit cigarettes accounted for 16 percent of cigarettes sold in the Philippines.