- Groundbreaking data gathering tool provides fresh insights on Filipino smoking behavior.
- In partnership with Global Action to End Smoking (GAES), Alitaptap Foundation, Inc. has released significant findings aimed at reducing smoking rates and promoting healthier lifestyles across the nation.
Philippine-based research and development group Alitaptap Foundation, Inc. partnered
with Global Action to End Smoking (GAES) to release breakthrough findings that would bolster efforts to reduce smoking rates and promote healthier lifestyles across the nation.
Their latest study, An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Policies, Regulations, and Use of Tob acco and Tobacco Harm Reduction Products on Reducing Tobacco Consumption and PromotingPublic Welfare, used the Direct Choice Experiment (DCE) approach for the first time to explore the attitudes, behavior, and the regulatory landscape surrounding the use of tobacco and tobacco harm reduction products (THRPs).
The research involved 1,979 respondents from diverse social sectors across the country’s major islands.
The Alitaptap research team applied the DCE method in a focused discussion with 479 smokers in the sample group. These respondents were asked to choose between smoking cigarette, vaping, or quitting. They further refined their preferences through a selection of 200 options that combined various attributes, like price, tax, flavor, nicotine levels, and graphic warnings.
Cigarettes remained the top choice among respondents, with price and nicotine levels significantly influencing their preferences. On the other hand, factors like flavor, increases in “sin tax,” and health warnings had little impact on smoking behavior. Nevertheless, it was noted that the demand for cigarettes and vaping products dropped by 7% for every peso increase.
Moreover, the likelihood of quitting increased with age, with the women expressing greater inclination to do so. The choice to vape remains constant with age, with a significant number opting to combine vaping with cigarette smoking.
“This study may open doors to innovative solutions to raise awareness on the linkages of tobacco and THRP use, not only with health but to other important development outcomes. We are happy to have contributed to the GAES’ advocacy for a healthier world,” said Mr. Rovin Feliciano, President of Alitaptap Foundation.
The release of the full study, An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Policies, Regulations, and Use of Tobacco and Tobacco Harm Reduction Products on Reducing Tobacco Consumption and Promoting Public Welfare, will be announced in the Facebook page of Alitaptap Foundation
ABOUT ALITAPTAP FOUNDATION, INC.
Alitaptap Foundation, Inc. is a Philippine research and development group on a mission to empower leaders from the government and private sectors to strategically work together towards building peaceful, happy, and progressive communities. Like its namesake, the firefly, Alitaptap sheds light on specific needs of communities by conducting data-driven studies and developing capacity-building programs that would bring about reforms in the delivery of vital services in the areas of good governance, education, health, and livelihood creation.
ABOUT GLOBAL ACTION TO END SMOKING
Global Action to End Smoking is an independent, U.S. nonprofit grantmaking organization that funds and empowers Health & Science Research, Cessation Education, and Agricultural Transformation designed to end the smoking epidemic and related death and disease.