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WHO: It's up to Noynoy to quit smoking but he should raise tobacco taxes


Although it remains his option to quit smoking or not, presidential front runner Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III should move to raise taxes on cigarettes, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said. Raising taxes on tobacco would discourage children from taking up the habit, said Dr. Soe Nyunt-u, the Philippine representative of the World Health Organization (WHO). "As (a health authority), we would advise him to quit," he said. "But it is his personal choice but we just hope that he would support in increasing tax for tobacco. The important thing is not for adult smokers but for the children not to pick up cigarette smoking," he said in an interview. He added that the Philippines is one of the countries with very low excise tax rates on tobacco. "If the government can increase tobacco taxation, the resources they will generate will be sufficient to invest in achieving the Medium-term Development Goal targets," Soe said. The WHO is studying a proposal that, if approved, would impose a "simplified tax system" for the Philippines. The plan would charge a P5 tax on every package of cigarettes sold in the country. Moreover, the tax would increase by P5 every year, he said. Taxes charged on low-end cigarette brands reach P2.47 per pack while some P27.16 are imposed on high-end brands. The WHO is also pushing for the graphic or picture-based warning signs on cigarette packs. It also plans to disallow the sale of cigarettes per stick to further encourage smokers to quit. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

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