TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
ol Iijc
25 JULIO PI--IS
SENATE 
S. No. 344
RF.CE1VED BY. .
Introduced by Senator PIA S. CAYETANO
AN ACT
INCREASING THE MINIMUM AGE OF ACCESS FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS, 
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9211, OTHERWISE 
KNOWN AS THE "TOBACCO REGULATION ACT OF 2003"
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Constitution upholds the State's duty to protect and promote the right to 
health of the people and instill health consciousness among them. In relation to this. 
Republic Act No. 9211, otherwise known as the "Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003," 
was enacted to regulate the sale, distribution, use, and advertising of tobacco 
products.
Despite the enactment of the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, tobacco use 
continues to be a leading public health threat in the Philippines. As of 2022, an 
estimated 16.4 million Filipinos aged 15 years and older used tobacco products, 
placing the country 15th globally and 4th in the Western Pacific Region in terms of 
number of tobacco users.1 In addition, based on the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco 
Survey (GYTS), 12.5% of Filipino students or approximately 762,000 students aged 
13-15 are current tobacco users.2
Further, early initiation of tobacco use is strongly associated with a higher risk 
of long-term nicotine dependence and adverse health outcomes. Tobacco use, 
especially among young people, is associated with multiple health and developmental
1 Global Action to End Smoking. State of Smoking and Health in the Philippines. 
https://globalactiontoendsmoking.org/research/tobacco-around-the-world/philippines/
2 Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development. (2022, April 21). Strengthening 
Tobacco Reguiation to protect young People, https://www.plcpd.org.ph/strengthening-tobacco- 
regulation-to-protect-young-people/#_ftn1


risks due to the presence of harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke. According to the 
World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco is responsible for the deaths of more than 
8 million persons annually. More than 7 million of these deaths are a result of direct 
tobacco use while around 1.2 million deaths are due to second-hand smoke exposure. 
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, around 112,100 die each year due to tobacco-caused 
diseases.3
Globally, raising the minimum legal age for tobacco access to 21 has emerged 
as an effective strategy to reduce youth smoking. In 2019, the United States amended 
the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" to increase the minimum legal sales age 
for all tobacco products from 18 to 21 years.4 A recent study published in the journal 
Addiction5 also found that this policy was associated with a 39% reduction in the 
likelihood of regular smoking among 18 to 20 year-olds who had previously 
experimented with cigarettes.
This measure, which was originally filed by the undersigned in the 19th 
Congress, proposes to amend the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 by raising the 
minimum legal age for the purchase, sale, and use of tobacco products from eighteen 
(18) to twenty-one (21) years old. It is a timely and evidence-based intervention aimed 
at addressing early initiation to smoking and protecting the health of the Filipino youth 
from the harmful effects of tobacco use.
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this measure is earnestly 
sought.
PIA S. CAYm ANO'
3 Ibid.
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, February). Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health Summary of Scientific Evidence: Raising the Minimum 
Legal Sales Age for Tobacco Products, https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/media/pdfs/2024/07/minimum- 
legal-sales-508.pdf
5 Society for the Study of Addiction (2019, July 24). Tobacco-21 lavt/s can lower smoking prevalence 
in the 18-20 age group https://addictionjournal.org/posts/tobacco-21-laws-can-lower-smoking- 
prevalence-in-the-18-20-age-group


'I ^rilutc
TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
SENATE
S. No. 344
of tor Scrpfarj*
25 JULIO PI 05 
\
RECEIVED BY;
Introduced by Senator PIA S. CAYETANO
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AN ACT
INCREASING THE MINIMUM AGE OF ACCESS FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS, 
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9211, OTHERWISE 
KNOWN AS THE "TOBACCO REGULATION ACT OF 2003"
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
Section 1. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 
2003 is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 3. Purpose. — It is the main thrust of this Act to:
XXX
e. Protect the youth from being initiated to cigarette smoking and 
tobacco use by prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to YOUNG 
PERSONS [minors]; 
xxx"
Section 2. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation 
Act of 2003 is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act: 
xxx
[g. "Minor" — refers to any person below eighteen (18) years old]
G. [h.] "Manufacturer" — refers to any person or entity, including 
a re-packer, who makes, fabricates, assembles, processes, or 
labels a finished product;


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H. [i.] "Package" — refers to packs, boxes, cartons or containers 
of any kind in which any tobacco product is offered for sale to 
consumers;
I. [j.] "Person" — refers to an individual, partnership, corporation 
or any other business or legal entity;
J. [k.]"Point-of-Sale" — refers to any location at which an 
individual can purchase or otherwise obtain tobacco products;
K. [I.] "Promotion" — refers to an event or activity organized by or 
on behalf of a tobacco manufacturer, distributor or retailer with the 
aim of promoting a brand of tobacco product, which event or 
activity would not occur but for the support given to it by or on 
behalf of the tobacco manufacturer, distributor or retailer. It may 
also refer to the display of a tobacco product or manufacturer's 
name, trademark, logo, etc. on non-tobacco products. This 
includes the paid use of tobacco products bearing the brand 
names, trademarks, logos, etc. in movies, television and other 
forms of entertainment. For the purpose of this Act, promotion 
shall be understood as tobacco promotion;
L. [m.] "Public Conveyances" — refer to modes of transportation 
servicing the general population, such as, but not limited to, 
elevators, airplanes, buses, taxicabs, ships, jeepneys, light rail 
transits, tricycles, and similar vehicles;
M. [n.] "Public Places" — refer to enclosed or confined areas of all 
hospitals, medical clinics, schools, public transportation terminals 
and offices, and buildings such as private and public offices, 
recreational places, shopping malls, movie houses, hotels, 
restaurants, and the like;
N. [o.] "Retailer" — refers to any person who or entity that sells 
tobacco products to individuals for personal consumption;


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O. [p.] "Smoking" — refers to the act of carrying a lighted cigarette 
or other tobacco products, whether or not it is being inhaled or 
smoked;
P. [q.] "Sponsorship" — refers to any public or private contribution 
to a third party in relation to an event, team or activity made with 
the aim of promoting a brand of tobacco product, which event, 
team or activity would still exist or occur without such contribution. 
For the purpose of this Act, sponsorship shall be understood as 
tobacco sponsorship;
Q. [r ] "Tobacco" — refers to agricultural components derived from 
the tobacco plant, which are processed for use in the 
manufacturing of cigarettes and other tobacco products;
R. [s.] "Tobacco Product" — refers to any product that consists of 
loose tobacco that contains nicotine and is intended for use in a 
cigarette, including any product containing tobacco and intended 
for smoking or oral or nasal use. Unless stated otherwise, the 
requirements of this Act pertaining to cigarettes shall also apply to 
other tobacco products;
S. [t.] "Tobacco Grower" — refers to any person who plants 
tobacco before the enactment of this Act and classified as such by 
the National Tobacco Administration (NTA); and
T. [u.] "Warning" — refers to the notice printed on the tobacco 
product or its container and/or displayed in print or aired in 
broadcast or electronic media including outdoor advertising and 
which shall bear information on the hazards of tobacco use; AND
U. "YOUNG PERSON" - REFERS TO ANY PERSON BELOW 
TWENTY- ONE (21) YEARS OLD."
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Sec. 3. Section 7 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"Sec. 7. Vending Machines, Seif-Service Facilities. — Unless the 
vending machine has a mechanism for age verification, the sale or 
distribution of tobacco products to YOUNG PERSONS [minors] by


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means of a vending machine or any self-service facility or similar 
contraption or device is prohibited, except at point-of-sale 
establishments."
Sec. 4. Section 9 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"Sec. 9. Minimum Age Sales. — Under this Act, it shall be unlawful:
a) For any retailer of tobacco products to sell or distribute tobacco 
products to any YOUNG PERSON [minor];
b) For any person to purchase cigarettes or tobacco products from
a YOUNG PERSON [minor];
c) For a YOUNG PERSON [minor] to sell or buy cigarettes or any 
tobacco product; and
d) For a YOUNG PERSON [minor] to smoke cigarettes or USE any 
other tobacco products.
It shall not be a defense for the person selling or distributing that 
he/she did not know or was not aware of the real age of the 
YOUNG PERSON [minor]. Neither shall it be a defense that 
he/she did not know nor had any reason to believe that the 
cigarette or any other tobacco product was for the consumption of 
the YOUNG PERSON [minor] to whom it was sold."
Sec. 5. Section 10 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"Sec. 10. Sale of Tobacco Products Within School Perimeters. — 
The sale or distribution of tobacco products is prohibited within 
TWO-HUNDRED (200) METERS [one hundred (100) meters] 
from any point of the perimeter of a school, public playground or 
other facility frequented particularly by YOUNG PERSONS 
[minors]."
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Sec. 6. Section 11 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:


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"Sec. 11. Signage. — Point-of-Sale establishments offering, 
distributing, or selling tobacco products to consumers, shall post 
the following statement in a clear and conspicuous manner: "SALE/ 
DISTRIBUTION TO OR PURCHASE BY YOUNG PERSONS 
[MINORS] OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS IS UNLAWFUL" or "IT IS 
UNLAWFUL FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO BE SOLD/DISTRIBUTED 
TO OR PURCHASED BY PERSONS UNDER 21 [18] YEARS OF AGE."
Sec. 7. Section 12 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 12. Proof of Age Verification. — In case of doubt as to the 
age of the buyer, retailers shall verify, by means of any valid form 
of photographic identification containing the date of birth of the 
bearer, that no individual purchasing a tobacco product is below 
TWENTY-ONE (21) [eighteen (18)] years of age."
Sec. 8. Section 13(f) of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"Sec. 13. Warnings on Cigarette Packages. — Under this Act:
XXX
f) In addition to the health warning, all packages of tobacco 
products that are provided to consumers shall contain, on one side 
panel, the following statement in a clear, legible, and conspicuous 
manner: "NO SALE TO YOUNG PERSONS" [MINORS] or "NOT 
FOR SALE TO YOUNG PERSONS" [MINORS]. The statement shall 
occupy an area of not less than ten percent (10%) of such side 
panel and shall appear in contrast by color, typography, or layout 
with all the other printed material on the side panel."
Sec. 9. Sec. 23 (h) of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 23. Restrictions on Tobacco Promotions. — The following 
restrictions shall apply on all tobacco promotions: 
h) No name, logo, or other indicia of a cigarette brand or element of 
a brand-related marketing activity may appear on items that are


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marketed to or likely to be used by YOUNG PERSONS [minors] 
such as, but not limited to, sports equipment, toys, dolls, miniature 
replicas of racing vehicles, video games, and food. The manufacturer 
or company must take all available measures to prevent third parties 
from using the company's brand names, logos, or other proprietary 
material on products that are directed toward YOUNG PERSONS 
[minors]."
Sec. 10. Sec. 32 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"Sec. 32. Penalties. — The following penalties shall apply:
XXX
b. Violation of Sections 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. — On the first offense, 
any person or any business entity or establishment selling to, 
distributing or purchasing a cigarette or any other tobacco products 
for a YOUNG PERSON [minor] shall be fined the amount of not less 
than Five thousand pesos (Php5,000.00) or an imprisonment of not 
more than thirty (30) days, upon the discretion of the court. For 
succeeding offenses, both penalties shall apply in addition to the 
revocation of business licenses or permits in the case of a business 
entity or establishment.
If the violation is by an establishment of business entity, the owner, 
president, manager, or the most senior officers thereof shall be held 
liable for the offense.
If a YOUNG PERSON [minor] is caught selling, buying, or smoking 
cigarettes or any other tobacco products, the provisions of Article 
189 of Presidential Decree No. 603 otherwise known as The Child 
and Youth Welfare Code, as amended, shall apply."
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Sec. 11. Separability Clause. — If any portion or provision of this Act is declared
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unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall


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remain in force and effect.
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Sec. 12. Repealing Clause. -Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
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order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the provisions of this
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Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 13. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days
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following its complete publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general
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circulation.
Approved,