The Toll of Tobacco in the Philippines

Tobacco Consumption

• Among adults (age 15+), 19.5% of Filipinos are current tobacco users, including 34.7% of men and 4.2% of women.¹

• 18.5% smoke tobacco products (33.3% of men and 3.7% of women).
• 1.5% use smokeless tobacco products (2.3% of men and 0.7% of women).

• Among youth (ages 13-15), 12.5% are current tobacco users (boys 18.3%; girls 6.9%).²

• 10.8% smoke tobacco products (16.2% of boys and 5.6% of girls).
• 3.0% use smokeless tobacco products (4.3% of boys and 1.7% of girls).

Secondhand Smoke Exposure

• 12.9% of adults (age 15+) who work indoors are exposed to secondhand smoke at their workplace, 9.2% of adults are exposed in restaurants, and 12.2% on public transportation.¹
• 41.7% of youth (ages 13–15) in Philippines are exposed to secondhand smoke inside enclosed public places, and 29.3% are exposed at home.²

Health Consequences

• Over 112,000 Filipinos die from tobacco-related diseases each year.³
• About 23% of male deaths and 10% of female deaths are caused by tobacco (17.5% overall).³
• Over 20% of non-communicable disease-related deaths (ex: ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, COPD, lung cancer, etc.) in the Philippines, are attributable to tobacco use.³

Tobacco Industry

Philip Morris International dominates the cigarette market in the Philippines, holding 69.7% of the market volume in 2021. Japan Tobacco International (JTI) purchased domestic company Mighty Corp in 2017, leading to JTI’s 29.9% of the cigarette market by volume in 2021. In the Philippines, over 50.8 billion cigarettes were sold in 2021.⁴

FCTC Status

Philippines ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on June 6, 2005. The treaty went into effect on September 4, 2005.

Tobacco Control Policy Status

For a summary of measures on smoke-free places, advertising and promotion, packaging and labeling, and taxation and price, download the Philippines Tobacco Control Policy Status fact sheet. For more information visit the Tobacco Control Laws website.

¹Philippines Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2021. Available from: https://drupal.gtssacademy.org/sites/default/files/country_docs/GATS%20Philippines%20-%20National%202021.pdf
²Philippines Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2019: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2019. Available from: https://drupal.gtssacademy.org/sites/default/files/country_docs/Philippines%20GYTS%202019%20Factsheet%20%28Ages%2013-15%29%20Final_508tag.pdf
³Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019. Seattle, WA: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington; 2023. Available from: https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/
⁴Euromonitor International, 2022. Accessed April 2023

Last updated Oct. 16, 2023