RESEARCHERS from the Ateneo de Manila University urged the government to regulate flavored tobacco, citing the Philippines’ obligation as a signatory to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
“Regulating flavored tobacco products requires a comprehensive policy approach complemented by complete enforcement. Flavor substances, flavor descriptors, and flavor imagery must be regulated altogether; however, it is ideal to enforce a ban on flavored tobacco products in compliance with the [World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control], to which the Philippines is a signatory,” the researchers said in a statement.
“Policymakers should consider plain packaging as an intervention to eliminate the appeals associated with flavored tobacco products,” they added.
The study, conducted by program manager Alen Santiago, non-resident research fellow Dr. Gayle Amul, with Ateneo research and project assistants Samantha Ackary and Patrik Cabrera, sampled 106 cigarette and cigar products across the country, including four cities in Metro Manila.
Out of 106 cigarette and cigar products sampled, 62, or 58.49 percent, have flavor descriptors.
The samples were collected from August 2022 to September 2023, and adapted the research design and protocol Tobacco Pack Surveillance System and its 2015 Field Collection Protocol developed by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
It confirmed that there was no regulation of flavored tobacco products in the Philippines.
“Historically, tobacco companies have used flavoring agents to enhance the appeal of tobacco consumption, encourage initiation and experimentation of tobacco use, and sustain tobacco use. However, the Philippines currently does not regulate flavored tobacco products, despite the increasing market shares of flavored tobacco products and novel technologies such as crushable capsules,” the researchers said.
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