...Philippines a haven for cigarette smugglers By Chay Florentino Hofileña, Newsbreak Posted at 05/26/2009 7:55 AM | Updated as of 05/26/2009 8:20 AM (First of two parts) Fisherman Lino Bocalan became legend in the 1950s to 1960s after he chanced upon an alternative and more lucrative profession: cigarette smuggling. Beneath the seawaters of his sleepy hometown of Tanza in Cavite, Bocalan discovered gun powder among the remnants of Japanese or American ships from World War II. The finds proved especially useful for fishermen who engaged in dynamite fishing back then. Illiterate but supposedly gifted with numbers, Bocalan eventually linked up with traders in Mindanao who were drawn to his supply of gun powder. In exchange, they offered him “blue-seal” or imported cigarettes, which were illegally, and easily, transported from areas like Borneo because of the South’s un-policed shorelines. Before long, Bocalan built a fortune and a name in an industry that grew in Tanza, aided in part by the presence of Sangley Point, a former American base where blue-seal cigarettes were sold and taken out from its commissary. He eventually traded directly with Borneo, cut the southern connection, and became a millionaire. Decades later, the Tanza cottage industry has evolved into a lucrative national, and even a global, industry. The southern backdoor, where traders of smuggled cigarettes used to taunt law enforcers, has become an outmoded entry point. Smugglers have become more brazen,...
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...Problem and Its Background Introduction Tobacco smoking or cigarette smoking is the practice of burning cigarette, taking the smoke into the mouth and then releasing it. This practice dates back as early as 5,000 – 3,000 B.C. but was introduced to Eurasia in the late 17th century where it has also been a commonly traded product. The practice received speculations and a lot of criticisms since it was first introduced but it somehow made its way inside the society and became widespread upon the invention of automated cigarette-rolling apparatus. The tobacco has been first introduced to other countries before reaching the Philippines. The idea of smoking tobacco first came from the Arawak Indians in 1492 that was noticed by Christopher Columbus. Seven years later, Amerigo Vespucci found out that the inhabitants in an island near Venezuela have already been practicing chewing dried leaves. In 1591, Mexico has already been growing tobacco at an increasing rate. It was believed that the tobacco was introduced by the Spaniards and Portuguese to mainland Europe, East Indies and Asia while they are on an expedition for searching for spices and spreading Christianity. Cigarette smoking became one of the highly sought after vice in the Philippines because of the affordable price of each stick ranging from seventy-five centavos to 2 pesos each, depending on its brand. The Philippine government came up with an idea of increasing the taxes imposed upon alcoholic beverages and cigarette...
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...Chapter 1 Problem and Review of Related Literature Introduction Assessing the Main Effects of population strategies, such as tobacco taxation and pricing, on high-risk subpopulations is important for understanding the reach and effectiveness of such strategies. Increased tobacco taxes, passed on to consumers in the form of higher cigarette prices, provide an economic disincentive to those who smoke or may be contemplating smoking. Indeed, evidence from this knowledge synthesis strongly supports increasing cigarette prices through tobacco taxation as a powerful strategy for achieving major reductions in smoking among some, but not all, high-risk populations. This is a highly effective policy tool for reducing smoking participation and consumption among youth, young adults and persons of low socioeconomic status. In contrast, major gaps exist in our knowledge about the impact of price on persons diagnosed with mental health or non-nicotine substance abuse disorders, heavy and/or long-term smokers. Raising cigarette prices is an effective tobacco control policy in reducing smoking among youth. While most studies of young adults found that increased prices also result in reductions in smoking behavior, the magnitude tends to be smaller than for youth. Chaloupka and Pacula argue that because tobacco is an addictive substance, response to increased prices will occur more slowly than for non-addictive goods; therefore long-term gains may be larger than short-term gains. The impact...
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... Today, about 240 families lost a loved one to a tobacco-related illness. That’s an estimated 87,600 deaths in a year. In 2011, the country earned around Php26 billion worth of taxes from the tobacco industry, while revenue from cigarette manufacturers amounted to approximately Php31 billion. How much does life cost? For each life lost to tobacco use, the tobacco industry earned Php353,881.28. Is it worth it? This does not even account for the annual health costs and productivity losses from tobacco-related deaths and diseases that range from Php148 billion to Php314 billion. No monetary equivalent can also be juxtaposed to the hours of painful treatment just to manage the diseases, nor the time and energy a family member spends to care for the loved one. More so, these numbers do not even reflect the pain of losing someone you love. But for decision-makers, these exact figures and immeasurable realities are not compelling enough to pass the necessary measures to reduce tobacco use. Instead, the most marginalized and the poorest sectors are pitted against each other to rationalize inaction - tobacco victims versus farmers, workers against children and youth. Life versus livelihood. The battle of the sectors has been the easiest tactic to muddle the discourse on amendments to excise taxation. What we fail to remember is that all of these sectors - farmers, urban poor, youth, children, and workers are the tobacco victims. They are the ones selling their produce at...
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...Sin Taxes House Bill 5727, or the Sin Tax Bill, aims to restructure the existing taxes imposed on alcohol and tobacco goods. Duties on these products are a potential revenue source that will help fund the Universal Health Care Program of the administration. Likewise, higher taxes—and consequently higher costs—are seen as a deterrent to the consumption of “sin” products, whose adverse effects are mostly borne by the poorer segments of society. Why are we supporting it? 1. To promote health by discouraging vice. 2. To collect more revenue for healthcare. Health According to the Department of Health (DOH), the Philippines has an estimated 17.3 million tobacco consumers, the most number of smokers in Southeast Asia. Filipinos on average consume 1, 073 cigarette sticks annually, while the smokers in the region consume less than a thousand sticks yearly. This high consumption rate is seen as a result, among others, of the very low cigarette prices in our country.Smoking is responsible for 71 percent of lung cancer deaths in the world. Consequently, lung cancer is the leading form of cancer in the Philippines. DOH statistics reveal that 10 Filipinos die every hour because of smoking.According to the DOH, a 10 percent increase in tobacco taxes will reduce the number of smokers by two million by 2016. A significant decline in the number of smokers will likewise reduce the number of smoking-related deaths. Revenue The Department of Finance (DOF) has determined the following flaws...
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...Taxation in the Philippines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article needs more links to other articles to help integrate it into the encyclopedia. Please help improve this article by adding links that are relevant to the context within the existing text. (May 2013) Taxation in the Philippines is controlled by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (Philippines). Taxes in the Philippines range from 5% to 35%[1] Contents [hide] 1 Exceptions 2 Cedula 3 Value Added Taxes (VAT) 4 Excise taxes 5 References Exceptions[edit] 25,000-26,500 [1] for individuals[1] 30,000 Pesos for married couples[1] Exceptions for Small and Medium Enterprises with income of less than 100,000 Pesos Cedula[edit] Cedula is a community tax that is paid annually at the Barangay Hall. It is often rated at 5% of income. Value Added Taxes (VAT)[edit] In the Philippines, the rate of VAT is at 12%. With some additional VAT:[1] Cockpits and Cabarets: 18% Jai-Jalai and racetracks: 30% And with some exceptions:[1] Small Businesses: 10% Not VAT-registered businesses: 3-5% Excise taxes[edit] Alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, jewelry, petroleum products, mining and petroleum taxes, residence taxes, a head tax on immigrants above a certain age and staying beyond a certain period, document stamp taxes, donor (gift) taxes, estate taxes, and capital gains taxes. A document stamp tax is charged on stock certificates, proofs of indebtedness, proofs of ownership, etc., and normally amount...
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...excise tax collection from tobacco and alcohol products by only P15 billion to P20 billion in the first year of implementation. This is significantly lower than the P31.35 billion that House Bill 5727, already passed on third reading, projects to raise, and an even farther cry from the P60.63-billion goal originally proposed by the Department of Finance. Senator Drilon’s substitute bill features an expected excise tax collection of P40 billion to P45 billion in the first year. Congress will adjourn for the holidays in six weeks, and there will be just three weeks of sessions next year before our legislators switch to campaign mode for the 2013 elections. Moreover, the Senate is also scheduled to begin deliberations on the proposed 2013 General Appropriations Act by next week. Thus, the need for the Senate to act and move the sin tax bill forward gains even greater urgency. Certainly, the passage of the sin tax bill has the full backing of the Aquino administration, which plans to use the revenue from the revised sin tax system to advance the government’s universal health care agenda. The campaign has garnered strong public support as well, particularly from the medical and health community. Last May, the Makati Business Club submitted its position to the House ways and means committee on the pending sin tax bill. In its statement “Tax Reform for a Healthier and Competitive Society,” the MBC said it “welcomes the initiative to reform excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products,...
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...when it was introduced in the Philippines Tuesday, as part of a government bid to boost finances. Many stores started selling tobacco and drink at inflated prices before midnight, ahead of the official implementation of the tax hikes on January 1, hitting partygoers in the pocket. Tax on cigarettes will gradually be raised to P30 ($0.72) per pack by 2017, roughly doubling the current price to around 52 pesos. Duty on alcohol will also increase gradually until 2017, increasing the price of a bottle of beer by 23.50 pesos, with varying levels for other drinks including wine and spirits. It will be further increased by four percent each year thereafter. “The new prices compared to countries like Singapore, for example, are still low, but for the ordinary Filipinos they are expensive,” said Laudemer Angeles, a 33-year-old shop owner in the town of Bacoor, south of Manila. “Many of my customers were complaining about the higher prices and were not too happy when they bought their booze and smokes for their parties last night.” Anti-smoking campaigner Emer Rojas said he hoped the new taxes would lead to a gradual decline in the number of people suffering from tobacco-related illness. “I think the sin taxes should even be raised higher,” he told AFP. “But we commend President Aquino for showing his resolve in signing the law.” The government has said that the country of 100 million has the highest incidence of smoking in the region, with tobacco-related diseases costing the country...
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...cardiovascular diseases from smoking. It impairs oxygen transportation in the blood. It is also strongly linked with the development of coronary heart disease. One gaseous constituent in cigarette smoke is hydrogen cyanide. Cyanide released from a cigarette can be 160 times greater than the level considered safe (Siahpush et al., 2006). It has a direct, harmful effect on the cilia, a part of the natural lung clearing mechanism in humans, thereby increasing the likelihood of developing disease. Risk from cyanide is significant with just one cigarette per day. Another gaseous constituent in cigarette smoke Silpakorn U Science & Tech J Vol.3(1), 2009 Smoking Behavior of Student is nitrogen oxide, of which the primary form is nitric oxide (NO) (Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, 2007). Students who have never tried to quit smoking should be aware of their chance to get serious health in their future. Now a day’s most of the smokers are student the more the price of cigarettes high the lessen student who wants smoke. Through this study many could benefit not just for lessen expenses but also more knowledge on how it could affect in their lives. They also should be educated on toxic chemicals in cigarettes that could harm both smokers and passive smokers such as their parents, friends and families. Misconceptions of students who have never tried to quit smoking such as smoking is not addictive, it is unnecessary to quit smoking, smoking is a source of pleasure, there is no regret...
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...Chapter I I. INTRODUCTION Many people nowadays smoke cigarette even teenagers smoke. Some people have no idea about the chemical of a tobacco and what it can cause to a human body. This paper is intended to give the readers an idea of the factors that trigger cigarette smoking amongst young generation of today, effects of cigarette, like cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. By reading this paper, a person can gain knowledge about the effects of smoking cigarette. So when a person reads this especially those who smoke, he or she may quit or lessen smoking because he or she will know the bad effects of cigarette smoking. It is considered that cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, leading to an annual five million deaths around the globe. It is estimated that if current smoking patterns carry on, the annual death toll could rise to more than eight million by 2030. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for many cancers and respiratory diseases. The heavier the usage of an individual and the longer he smokes, the higher the risks for smoking-related illnesses. Cigarette smoking involves inhaling smoke into the lungs. A cigarette contains more than 4000 poisonous chemicals such as nicotine, arsenic, methane, ammonia, cadmium, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, butane, and hydrogen cyanide. Inhaled cigarette smoke can damage the lungs' cilia, tiny hair-like structures that sweep away debris from the lungs. With the cilia paralyzed...
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...be imperilled because of higher cigarette prices and lower consumption brought about by HB 5727? A: No. 1. Tobacco farmers have already been switching to more profitable and suitable crops like corn, garlic and tomato. 2. The tobacco industry is considered a “sunset industry” due to the declining land use and crop production. 3. The bill provides that 15% of the incremental tobacco revenues to support alternative livelihoods for the farmers. Q smuggling? intensify : Will HB 5727 A: Not necessarily. 1. The root cause of smuggling is not high prices per se, but lack of political will, corruption and poor law enforcement. 2. There have been many countries like China, Spain and Canada that have successfully curbed smuggling in spite of a tax hike – and this was possible due to strong government commitment. Q: Why is there a need to increase the tax rates significantly? A: First, the current tax rates have proven to be ineffective in curbing cigarette and alcohol consumption. “Enjoying” one of the cheapest cigarettes in the region has led to high cigarette consumption. Currently, 240 Filipinos die daily because of smoking-related diseases. Second, the Philippines is a party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first international health treaty where we pledged to reduce smoking prevalence from 28.3% at present to 25% by 2014. Third, the sin taxes have already been “frozen” for 16 years due to the price classification freeze. The significant tax increase...
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... ECO 550 Assignment 1: Market Models Patterns of Change. The Tobacco Industry Describe the industry. Unit 1: History & Economics of Tobacco: History of Tobacco states that, “Tobacco has a long history in the Americas. The Mayan Indians of Mexico carved drawing in stone showing tobacco use. These drawings date back to somewhere between 600 to 900 A.D. Tobacco was grown by American Indians before the Europeans came from England, Spain, France, and Italy to North America. Native American smoke tobacco though a pipe for special religious and medical purposes. They did not smoke every day. Tobacco was the first crop grown for money in North America. In 1612 the sellers of the first American colony in Jamestown, Virginia grew tobacco as a cash crop. By the 1800s, many people have begun use in small amounts of tobacco. Some chewed it. Others smoked it occasionally and a pipe or they hand rolled cigarette or cigar. On the average, people smoked about 40 cigarettes a year. The first commercial cigarettes were made in 1865 by Washington Duke on his 300-acre farm in Raleigh, North Carolina. The American tobacco Company was the largest and most powerful tobacco company until the early 1900s. In 1902 Phillip Morris Company came out with its marble brand. They were selling cigarettes mainly to...
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...the sin tax for tobacco and alcohol. One disadvantage of increasing sin taxes of tobacco and alcohol is that it decreases the income of the tobacco farmers. There are a lot of arguments from social media and newspapers regarding the consuming of cigarettes and alcohols. However, according to Bordadora (2012), tobacco farmers will be affected because of the increase in prices. They will lose their job and decreased their income which will decrease their productivity level (Bongosia, retrieved 2015). This argument shows that if company suppliers of these products increase the price due to...
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...QUESTION 1: Using the five factors (culture, social, politic, legal and economy) choose a product or service and relate how Malaysian Economy has managed to be “above water” which currently other countries face. (min1500words) 1.0 Introduction The use of cigarette for cigarette has been practiced for centuries. The cigarette plant has been grown in America since the 17th century and cigarette has been used in various forms since. The form of cigarette cigarette by rolling the leaves in fine paper was frequently done by hand for those who practiced it, which limited the habit of cigarette. In 1865, a man named Washington Duke from North Carolina began to roll cigarettes and sell them to others for profit. In 1883, James Bonsack invented a machine that could roll cigarettes and produce thousands per day. Bonsack began a business called the American Cigarette Company, which was the first company to produce cigarettes on a large scale. The mechanized production of cigarettes widely increased the popularity of cigarette, and made cigarettes much more accessible to those who wanted to smoke. Premade cigarettes were available for those who did not wish to roll their own cigarette and cigarettes became available in quantities by the pack. In the late 19th century cigarettes were being sold in packs and marketed throughout the United States. Cigarettes were packaged into containers of ten that were marked with the name of the company that manufactured them and various logos...
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...Efficient Taxation for a Progressive Nation By 3000 BC Egypt had become a nation of stability and distinguished itself as a country with its own system of writing that transmitted wisdom and learning from one generation to the next. A succession of pharaohs had ruled the country to administer the resources and businesses of far-flung communities. In the absence of the use of money, taxes in the form of wheat and other field produce were collected by government bureaucrats based on estimated harvest. As early as the Egyptian times, the government spent revenues that were yet to be collected. In modern times, when we hear about “deficit spending”, we learned it from the Egyptians. The wheat or grains collected were stored in granaries where they are tallied and the records kept in the books. Surpluses after every good harvest were returned to the farmers during times of want and calamities. Others were used to supply the needs of their soldiers in their camps. Before the fall of Roman Empire, Europe had become the world’s central authority and had a established trade network that stretched from England and Germany into the Mediterranean countries. Rome had also provided a means of currency or the use of money for commerce and trade. The Roman government had also left a legacy of extensive system of paved roads, aqueducts or water system, and a form of government based on the local system. From these local governments, an economic system developed where labor was provided by...
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