JTI bewails ‘normalization’ of illegal tobacco purchase

MANILA, Philippines — More and more adult smokers are now finding it “normal” or acceptable to buy illicit cigarettes, a new study commissioned by global tobacco and vaping company JTI showed.

Citing the four-country JTI study during the EJAP Midyear Economic Forum, Robert Eugenio, JTI Philippines director for fiscal and regulatory affairs, said while 50 percent of the smokers interviewed felt that illicit tobacco trade is a threat to their country, 43 percent of them would be ‘comfortable buying cigarettes that they know to have been produced or sold illegally’.

In the Philippines, about 33 percent of adult Filipino smokers covered by the study said they would be willing to patronize illegal cigarettes.

Eugenio said illicit trade in tobacco is a global problem that world governments need to address before it becomes “normalized.”

The study, titled “Fighting the Dark Underworld,” was participated in by adult smokers in France, United Kingdom, Canada and the Philippines, which examines how geopolitical environments, fragile economies and a lack of serious deterrents create the ideal conditions for a surge in criminal activity and increased profits for criminal networks.

Addressing the participants in the economic forum, Eugenio said validating the results of the JTI study is the fact that smuggled and non-tax paid cigarettes are being sold openly in stores and other public areas.

“In some areas in Mindanao, eight out of 10 cigarettes sold come from illegal sources,” he said.

Government revenues from the tobacco industry have dramatically fallen from a record high tax collection of P176 billion in 2021 to just P135 billion in 2023, which can be partly attributed to rampant tobacco smuggling, according to Eugenio.

He nevertheless lauded Congress for approving the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage bill, which classifies tobacco smuggling as an act of economic sabotage, that can boost government’s campaign against tobacco illicit trade.

He also cited that the recent directive of President Marcos to all government agencies to intensify the fight against the illicit tobacco trade has already provided a strong impetus even before the bill is signed into law.

Aside from a consistent and intensified enforcement of the laws up to prosecution and conviction, he also cited tightened border controls and a re-examination of the country’s excise tax laws as other possible policy considerations.