Rep. Quimbo warns of rising vape use among youth

Rep. Miro Quimbo, Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, led the committee’s discussion on the rise of vaping in the Philippines and its potential health and fiscal implications, particularly for the youth.

It focused on the increasing prevalence of vape use among young people and the role of excise taxation in addressing the public health challenge.

“Lumabas ka nga lang sa bahay, sa mall, sa parking lot, o sa labas ng mga schools diyan, makikita mo ang paglaganap ng vaping, lalo na sa mga kabataan. Vaping has evolved into a lifestyle product, flavored, colorful, easily accessible, and aggressively targeted at younger consumers,” Rep. Quimbo said.

Citing national data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), Quimbo highlighted the alarming spike in nicotine product use among youth aged 10 to 19.

From 0.8% in 2015, rising to 3.2% in 2019, the number skyrocketed to 39.9% in 2023. In just four years, vaping among youth nicotine users increased more than tenfold, reflecting both an influx of new nicotine users and a shift from cigarette smoking to vape use.

Quimbo noted that excise taxes on sin products are guided by two key principles: to discourage consumption and to generate revenue for health programs.

The committee’s hearing offered an opportunity to review data on vape consumption trends, tax collections, elasticity estimates, and projected healthcare costs.

Vape products are under a two-tier tax system for salt nicotine and conventional freebase. Salt nicotine is taxed at ₱60.00 per ml, and freebase is taxed at ₱6.95 per ml.

The Committee is now pushing for a unitary tax rate, effectively removing the two-tier distinction between salt nicotine and conventional freebase.

This was supported during the meeting by the BoC, BIR, and DOF, as the current two-tier system is prone to misdeclaration and therefore makes tax administration more difficult.

Several bills propose a unified rate of up to ₱66.15 per milliliter to align the tax on vapor products with the rates applied to combustible or traditional cigarettes.

Quimbo highlighted that the rising use of vape poses serious health risks, including respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, which could further burden the country’s healthcare system.

He stressed the importance of ensuring that fiscal policies are aligned with national priorities to address both public health and consumption trends.

“If vaping continues to surge and its health impacts start to emerge, can the government shoulder the cost of the necessary medical and rehabilitative interventions? If not, it is our duty to rethink the current excise tax rates. We cannot allow a generation to become heavily nicotine-dependent, only to realize later that we underpriced the health risks and underfunded the consequences.”, Rep. Quimbo said.