Cigarette holiday bill to affect retailers sales

CEBU, Philippines - A proposed bill seeking to ban the use and sale of cigarettes every 15th of the month is seen to affect the sales of big retailers as well as small-scale entrepreneurs including the ambulant vendors selling candies and cigarettes on the streets.

Although Cebu City Representative  Rodrigo Abellanosa, who authored House Bill 401, cited financial benefits for smokers, retailers on the other hand, warned that the bill could greatly affect their sales.

Gaisano Metro Colon supermarket manager Rowena Tangoan said the proposal would definitely affect the sales growth of cigarettes most especially that the prohibition falls on a payday, when sales is at its peak.

"Kusog ang sale sa among cigarettes during pay days ug weekends," she told The FREEMAN in an interview at the supermarket.

In fact, despite the graphic health warnings that tobacco manufacturers are required to put on cigarette packs beginning last March, sales of the products remain strong and steady, she said.

She said they sell both for retail and wholesale.

Tangoan shared the store's average daily sales from cigarettes would range between P250,000 to P300,000.

There are even times when sales would reach P1 million, she added.

Meanwhile, ambulant vendor "Boy" Negro, 67, was a bit worried when told about the proposal.

In an interview while resting at the sidewalk, the cigarette vendor claimed he is just earning small from selling cigarettes.

Negro earns a little above P100 a day from selling cigarettes in downtown Cebu City.

In his proposal, Abellanosa cited the financial benefits of quitting smoking as the average cigarette consumption of Filipinos was at 11 sticks a day or P66 a day per person, according to a 2009 study of World Health Organization.

Based also on a 2013 report of the New York-based World Lung Foundation, smoking-related diseases also kill 71,850 Filipinos each year.

A 2009 survey of the Department of Health revealed that more than 28 percent of the country's adult population were smokers.

Elsa Mandaya, a 48-old-year smoker, said the proposal was fine as it only bans smoking for one day.

Mandaya said she has been addicted to smoking since she was a teenager and today she smokes more than five sticks a day.

Abellanosa’s bill stated that those caught selling cigarettes would be fined P10,000 for the first offense, P50,000 for the second offense and jail term of one month and one day to six months and a fine of P100,000 for the third offense.

While those who would be caught smoking would be penalized with P5,000 fine for the first offense, P25,000 for the second offense, and imprisonment of one day to 30 days and a fine of P50,000 for the third offense.

It was in 2013 when the government raised excise taxes on tobacco and liquor products to raise revenues and discourage smoking.

Taxes are levied on the number of packs placed on store shelves rather than the number subsequently sold.

President Rodrigo Duterte had made pronouncements for a stricter implementation of a nationwide ban on smoking in public places.

Apart from smoking ban, the Duterte administration had also been urged to support the international push for the use of plain and standardized packaging which prohibits the use of colors, logos, brand images and promotional information on packages.

According to WHO, this strategy decreased the appeal of tobacco products, restricted the use of the pack as a form of advertising, and boosted the effectiveness of health warnings. (FREEMAN)