Manila, Feb. 25 -- Simulations jointly developed by the Departments of Finance (DOF) and Health (DOH) along with the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the proposal by Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao to increase excise taxes on tobacco products to PHP60 per pack will bring down cigarette consumption by 16.8 percent and lead 3.2 million adults to quit smoking.
Pacquiao's measure -- Senate Bill 1599 -- is similar to the DOF-DOH proposal of increasing the excise tax on cigarettes, regardless of brand or price, to PHP60 per pack in the first year of implementation and an additional 9 percent per year thereafter, the DOF said in a statement on Monday.
Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said during a recent hearing of the Senate ways a...