Tough talk

The Philippine government is willing to terminate the cigarette industry and face revenue losses in order to get more people to stop smoking, reports The Manilla Times citing the Department of Finance.

During a press briefing on “sin taxes” last Friday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said ending the industry was “what we want.”

“What we want to do is to reduce consumption, because actually, the more you smoke, the less healthy you are,” Dominguez said. “So actually if people smoke less, fewer of them will be requiring healthcare, right?”

Dominguez and Health Secretary Francisco Duque expressed support for the passage of Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao’s SB 1599, which aims to increase taxes on tobacco products to PHP60 ($ 1.14) per pack and by 9 percent annually thereafter in a bid to curb the number of smokers in The Philippines.