Let’s face it. There is something morally and painfully wrong with coddling a system that continues to “encourage” such debilitating habits as cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking when the whole nation’s health care delivery system is being compromised.

Countless international and local studies, including one done by the World Bank, have validated the urgent need to raise “sin” taxes even if only to levels comparable with other Southeast Asian countries. But alas! The current monopolistic behavior of tobacco and liquor industries is managing to ward off any government initiatives.

Newly appointed finance secretary Cesar Purisima may be lauded for his focused effort to improving tax collection efficiency and plug tax leakages, which he may very well be able to do so. However, ignoring the moral aspect of the tobacco industry, for example, creating so much health problems but not contributing its proper share for public health service, is not acceptable.

In its most recent announcement, the Department of Health (DOH) stated that more Filipinos are dying every year due to smoking, directly and because of inhaling second hand smoke. This number has increased to 87,600, or about 240 deaths every day, or 10 in every hour.

Emphysema, tuberculosis, and cancer are just some of the crippling effects of smoking and heavy drinking that drain the national coffers because of the high and prolonged cost of treatment.

The heavy burden of smoking in the country is exacerbated by the fact that excise taxes collected from the tobacco industry are way below the expenses incurred by the government to treat tobacco-related diseases.

Ironically, because of the abnormally low taxes on tobacco, particularly on “protected brands,” the number of people who take to smoking continues to grow. Among the most vulnerable sectors are the youths and those who belong to the less affluent strata of society.

Clearly, the laws currently in place to discourage smoking by tying the hands of tobacco companies through limited advertising, marketing and promotions is not achieving the desired objective of reducing the public’s exposure to this deadly habit.

Furthermore and without much success, our government has spent – and continues to spend – hundreds of millions of pesos through advertising and health promotions to discourage its citizens from picking up or continuing with the smoking habit.

This situation is best summed up by a policy paper and research report on tobacco tax and health promotion that was issued by several professors and researchers of the UP School of Economics with support from HealthJustice, a non-government organization committed to bridging the gap between public health and law through policy development and research.

According to their research, tobacco companies are contributing only about P30 billion in excise tax per year while the economic costs including expenses for health care and cost of productivity losses for four of the many tobacco-related diseases range from P218 billion to P461 billion every year.

And this amount is expected to increase if the number of new smokers will continue to rise because cigarettes and other tobacco products simply continue to be affordable. So what’s the use of having come up with prohibition laws on smoking?

Raising taxes on tobacco and at the same time correcting the existing lopsided excise tax structure on cigarettes will go a long way in bringing down the number of new cigarette smokers. It will also provide the government with additional funds needed to cure smoking-related illnesses.

There are several bills pending in Congress to address this issue. In one filed by Congressman Hermilando Mandanas, reforming the current tax system particularly on cigarettes can generate at least P44 billion in additional revenues for government on the just the first year. Not only will this help cover for the cost of smoking-related diseases, it will be a boost on the government’s budgetary problem.

The World Bank’s study has emphatically noted that there is a need to adopt a uniform excise tax rate for cigarettes and to index the rates to nominal GDP or income growth to guarantee that both excise incidence and burden will not fall over time.

Government revenues from the tobacco industry have been declining over the years while the retail price of “protected cigarette brands” continued to increase. This just shows that only the cigarette industry, particularly those companies whose brands were given “arbitrary legislative protection” for the past 14 years by RA 8424, is benefiting from the existing skewed cigarette excise tax structure.

For instance, during a seven-year period from 2000 up to 2006, because tobacco taxes continued to be based on 1996 retail prices, it is estimated that the lopsided tax structure on cigarettes had already cost the government some P144 billion. Just imagine how much we lost in the last 14 years that this system has been in existence.

It’s not too late for P-Noy’s government to act and reform the existing taxation system on tobacco products. Only this way can government meet its long-term health objectives, especially those which are related to the health hazard that is cigarette smoking.

P-Noy has promised the launch of a grand plan, a universal health program for all Filipinos. However, this will remain merely as a “dream” if appropriate funding is not provided. Wouldn’t it be appropriate if the incremental revenues generated by a reformed cigarette excise tax would be a major contributor to this health program?

P-Noy, it’s your move, sir.

Again, congratulations to FilOil Flying V Sports headed by Raffy Villavicencio, and ably assisted by Joey Guillermo, for organizing the highly successful pre-season tournament featuring the UAAP and NCAA teams now preparing for the start of the 2011 collegiate basketball season.

On a related development, as the more than 30 “mother leagues” all over the country prepare for their respective competitions, Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) is once again laying the groundwork for the nationwide multi-level tournaments that will determine the 2011 National Collegiate Champion.

Visit www.CollegiateChampionsLeague.net to get a view of the 2011 tournament structure and details of this annual search for the best collegiate teams in the country.