Health experts and advocates on Wednesday urged election candidates to take a stand" against what they called a "growing epidemic of cigarette, vape, and alcohol" among the Filipino youth.

Philippine Medical Association (PMA) president Dr. Hector Santos said this is a "full-blown epidemic that demands immediate action from our leaders."

"We are calling on candidates to stand with our parents and youth now so our children don’t have to inherit a future of early, preventable deaths and illnesses," Santos stressed.

Public policy think tank Action for Economic Reforms (AER), based on the National Nutrition Survey, found that consumption rates of cigarettes, vape, and alcohol "have increased from 2021 to 2023."

According to AER, these dramatic increases representa significant rise in the absolute number of young people consuming harmful products.

In 2023, there were a total of 89,000 tobacco-related deaths in the Philippines, while alcohol consumption leads to at least 27,000 deaths a year.

“Every day that we don’t act, another Filipino family loses a loved one while the tobacco, vape, and alcohol industries profit,” Santos continued.

“We are tired of watching the devastating health effects of alcohol, tobacco, and vape on our youth with no action taken by our policymakers," he added.

The physicians and health advocates attributed the rise to "aggressive marketing and weak regulations" on cigarettes, vapes, and alcoholic beverages.

One effective way to reduce consumption of these harmful products, according to AER project officer AJ Montesa, is to implement higher taxes on cigarettes, vapes, and alcoholic beverages.

"From 2009 to 2021, there's a big reduction of consumption of cigarettes and other tobacco products as a result of the tax increase," Montesa pointed out during the End the Epidemic on Yosi, Vape, at Alak Among Youth media forum held in Quezon City.

In 2020, the tax rate on cigarettes increased from P37.50 to P45 per pack, meanwhile, the tax on heated tobacco increased by five percent in 2024, and is set to rise annually after.

While there is also a price increase in alcoholic beverages yearly, Montesa pointed out that the Philippines still has some of the cheapest prices on these products worldwide.

"One bottle of gin is cheaper than a fast food value meal. So it's too accessible to too many people," he added.

Aside from imposing higher taxes on sin products, such as alcohol and tobacco, Montesa also said that the government must implement stricter regulations.

"Taxes are the most effective policy, but regulations can also complement the taxes as well. Keep [them] out of reach from young people, make it inaccessible to young people, and stop the aggressive marketing," he pressed.

“Flavored vapes, social media promotions, and cheap alcohol products are specifically designed to hook the next generation. Without urgent government intervention, this crisis will spiral out of control," Philippine Pediatric Society-Tobacco Control advocacy chair Dr. Riz Gonzales added.

Meanwhile, for his part, Dr. RJ Naguit of the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians reiterated that candidates "must take a stand and act decisively to increase taxes" on cigarettes, vapes, and alcoholic products.

“We must put people over profit to stop a preventable crisis. If our leaders fail to act, they are leaving our youth to fend for themselves against an industry that is actively targeting them like lambs to the slaughter," Naguit added.