Smoking in the Philippines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tobacco smoking in the Philippines affects a sizable minority of the population. According to the 2015 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted under the auspices of the Philippines' Department of Health, Philippine Statistics Authority, the World Health Organization, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,[1] 23.8 percent of the adult population were "current tobacco smokers".[2] This figures represented 16.6 million of 69 million adult Filipinos.[3]
In 2013, the Philippines had one of the highest smoking rates in Asia and some of the lowest cigarette prices.[4] It is home to several major cigarette and cigar manufacturers, including one owned by Philip Morris International.[4] In 2006, the World Health Organization estimated that 10 Filipinos die every hour due to cancer, stroke, lung and heart diseases brought on by cigarette smoking.[5]
The Philippines is a party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.[6] This caused concern for the World Health Organization when the Philippines hosted one of the world's largest tobacco trade shows, ProTobEx Asia, in 2012 and 2013.[4]