MANILA, (PIA) — Senator Win Gatchalian criticized online shopping platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, Tiktok Shop, Facebook Market, and Instagram, for allowing the sale of illicit tobacco and vapor products that are easily accessible to young people.
During a recent Senate Committee on Ways and Means hearing on the rising incidence of illicit trade in excisable products, Gatchalian urged these platforms to improve their filtering processes.
“You have become the gateway to an increase in smoking prevalence,” he said.
Gatchalian stressed the platforms’ responsibility to prevent these regulated products from reaching youth.
He pointed to a study from Australia indicating that smoking initiation rates were nearly five times higher among those who had tried vaping compared to those who had not.
In the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) reported an increase in new smokers, rising to 9.53 million in 2023 from 2021, with 1.13 million of those being adolescents aged 10 to 19 years.
“The platforms should be the first line of defense in preventing young individuals from accessing health-risk products such as cigarettes and vapes,” Gatchalian emphasized. He noted that if online platforms allow these transactions, they enable harmful practices.
In addition to the Sin Tax Reform law, the Internet Transaction Act (RA 11967) regulates the sale of these products on online shopping platforms.
“These are highly regulated products, and we enacted the ITA precisely to prevent this from happening,” Gatchalian concluded. (JCO/PIA-NCR)
