The Toll of Tobacco in the Philippines

Tobacco Consumption

• Among adults (age 15+), 23.8% of Filipinos use tobacco products, including 41.9% of men and 5.8% of women.¹

• 22.7% smoke (40.3% of men and 5.1% of women).
• 1.7% use smokeless tobacco (2.7% of men and 0.7% of women).

• Among youth (ages 13-15), 16% use tobacco products (boys 22.2%; girls 10.4%).²

• 12% smoke cigarettes, 3.4% smoke other tobacco products and 2.5% use smokeless tobacco products.

Secondhand Smoke Exposure

• 21.5% of adults (age 15+) who work indoors are exposed to secondhand smoke at the workplace, 21.9% of adults are exposed in restaurants, and 37.6% on public transportation.¹
• 54.2% of youth (ages 13–15) in Philippines are exposed to secondhand smoke in enclosed public places, and 38.3% are exposed at home.²

Health Consequences

• About 110,000 Filipinos die from tobacco-related diseases each year.³
• About 21.8% of males deaths and 9.7% of female deaths are caused by tobacco smoke (18.6% overall).³
• More than 23% of male deaths and 12% of female deaths are caused by tobacco (16.6% overall).³

Tobacco Industry

Philip Morris International dominates the cigarette market in the Philippines, holding 70.5% of the market volume in 2018. Japan Tobacco International (JTI) purchased domestic company Mighty Corp in 2017, leading to JTI’s 28.8% of the cigarette market by volume in 2018. In Philippines, over 64.4 billion cigarettes were sold in 2018.⁴

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.

¹ Philippines Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2015. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/global/gtss/
² Philippines Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2015: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2017. Available from: nccd.cdc.gov/GTSSData/default/default.aspx
³ Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017. Seattle, WA: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington; 2020. Available from: vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/
⁴ Euromonitor International, 2019

Last updated Jan. 15, 2023