A lawmaker today said the implementation of the controversial sin tax law would be a great help to warn Filipinos against the dangers of smoking to their health.
Rep. Catalina Bagasina, who represents the party-list Association of Laborers and Employees (ALE), said the primary reason for the recent implementation of sin tax is to prevent people from smoking.
Bagasina said the rise in respiratory problems today is largely blamed on cigarette smoking and the unabated pollution of the environment.
“Governments around the world have spent millions of dollars in the fight against diseases caused by smoking, which are otherwise preventable,” Bagasina said.
Citing several studies, Bagasina said about 600 million people worldwide already live with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but its prevalence is predicted to rise to become the world’s third leading cause of death by 2020.
Bagasina said COPD kills more than 2.75 millions of people every year, and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.
Bagasina cited the World Health Organization (WHO) report that of the 1.2 billion cigarette smokers in the world, one smoker dies every 6.5 seconds due to cancer, heart and lung diseases.
“It is estimated that one out of every five Filipinos may be suffering from COPD which, being a chronic disease, entails a long term, if not life time treatment,” Bagasina said.
WHO also projects that the number of male smokers will rise modestly from 1 billion to 1.1 billion by 2030.