Senator Win Gatchalian called out online shopping platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, Tiktok Shop, Facebook Market, and Instagram, for allowing the sale of illicit tobacco and vapor products, which he said makes it easy for young people to access these regulated items.
“The online platforms should do a much better job in terms of filtering these illicit products. You have become the gateway to an increase in smoking prevalence,” Gatchalian told representatives of Shopee and Lazada at a recent hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on the rising incidence of illicit trade on excisable products, particularly tobacco and vapor products.
“It’s the responsibility of the platforms to make sure that these products do not end up in the hands of the youth,” he added.
According to Gatchalian, the availability of these highly regulated products on online shopping platforms may have contributed to the rising prevalence of smoking in the country, especially among adolescents.
He cited a study conducted in Australia showing that the rate of smoking initiation was nearly five times higher among those who tried vaping compared to those who never vaped. In the Philippines, data from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) revealed that new smokers increased to 9.53 million in 2023 from 2021. Among these, 1.13 million are adolescents, or those aged 10 to 19 years.
Gatchalian emphasized that online platforms should be the first line of defense in preventing young individuals from accessing health-risk products such as cigarettes and vapes. “The platforms know all the products being posted and sold on their sites. If these platforms allow these transactions, then they’re enabling this harmful practice,” he said.
In addition to the Sin Tax Reform law, Republic Act 11967 or the Internet Transaction Act (ITA) covers 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,” he said.
