(Debate speech of First Speaker)

We have heard so much already about cigarette smoking and

how it affects every human being of this country. A lot has already
been reported, reviewed and critiqued of its pros and cons but today
allow me and my group mates to lay down the basis why there is
more to the positive aspect of legalizing smoking in the Philippines.
For this purpose, as the First Speaker, I will discuss upon the
theory: Why is it necessary to legalize smoking in the Philippines?
To begin with, allow me to state for the record that SMOKING IN
THE PHILIPPINES IS NOT ILLEGAL. Our laws, such as Republic Act
9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 and Republic Act 10351
or the Sin Tax Reform Law, are inclined towards REGULATING and
not ENTIRELY BANNING smoking in the Philippines.
The fact remains why there is no all out ban in smoking is
because our government affirms to the positive economic results of
the same. For instance, our recently approved expanded Sin Tax
Law, was able to increase our national revenue by double digits
after three (3) years. According to the March 3, 2016 issue of
Philippine Stars Business Section1, compared to 2014, revenues
from excise taxes collected on tobacco and alcohol products rose 25
percent to P142 billion in 2015 from P113 billion the previous year.
And surprisingly, the bulk of revenues came from cigarettes, up 32
percent to P100 billion.
Thus, brings us to my first argument: it is necessary to legalize
smoking because it means more revenues for the government.
No less than the World Health Organization (WHO) has noted the
increase in Philippine Budget from US$1.25 billion to nearly US$2
billion and such increase are earmarked for specific programs, most
of which are entailed to finance health care system of our country.
Former health secretary Janette Garin said in relation to this that
"the resources generated from the sin tax will be instrumental in
delivering high impact breakthrough plans, both in terms of health
facility enhancement and provision of health professionals towards
Universal Health Care. These high impact breakthroughs will reduce
maternal, infant and child mortality, HIV incidence, and strengthen
our service delivery network."
And so, my question now is for my opponent, do we need to
compromise the great benefit we can derive from the
insurmountable increase in revenue that benefits a number of
sectors of our government? I do not think so.
For this reason, my second argument will be enlightening: it is
necessary to legalize smoking because it is a necessary tool for the
development of the tobacco industry; the farmers and laborers.
As already mentioned in my opening statement, there is no total
ban in smoking only government regulation has been implemented
since time immemorial. Perhaps this can be noted because the
1 http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/03/03/1558815/where-sin-taxes

introduction of Tobacco in the country was recorded in the late 16th

century at the time when the Spaniards made the Philippines as its
colony. Since then tobacco has been cultivated in our soils and
became a means for foreign trade and relations with the Dutch.
Today, tobacco is richly grown in the Ilocos Region and in Cagayan
Valley2. With this abundant history, the Department of Agriculture
through the National Tobacco Administration has been inclined to
expand protocol research studies of Tobacco to further help our
tobacco farmers and laborer. In fact, a bulk of the revenues
generated from the Sin Tax Law is allocated to tobacco farmers.
Thus, legalizing smoking would have vast improvement to the lives
to the 54,000 or more families relying on the tobacco industry.
To my panyeros in the negative side, will your conscience allow
you to sleep knowing that more than a thousand of families relying
on the tobacco industry will not be able to have a food on their table
because we have deprived them of the same?
Finally, for my third argument, and this I believe would be a
major counter-attack to our opponents main thrust of point, the
essential health advantage of smoking.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you have heard me correctly.
Contrary to what has been reported and recorded, smoking after all
has its benefits. Christopher Wanjek of LiveScience.com3, a holder of
a Master of Health degree from Harvard School of Public Health, said
in his column that smoking has the following benefits: lowering the
risk of knee-replacement surgery, low risks of Parkinsons disease,
lowers risk of obesity, lowers risk of death after some heart attacks
and helps the heart drug clopidogrel to work better.
From Mr. Wanjeks 5 claims of benefits, I will only discuss two
points, the fact that smoking lowers risk of obesity and the risk of
death after heart attack.
According to the column, tobacco smoking has for its component
Nicotine, which is an appetite suppressant. He further stated that
the relationship between smoking and weight control is complex:
nicotine itself acts as both a stimulant and appetite suppressant;
and the act of smoking triggers behavior modification that prompts
smokers to snack less. Smoking also might make food less tasty for
some smokers, further curbing appetite. As an appetite suppressant,
nicotine appears to act on a part of the brain called the
hypothalamus, at least in mice, as revealed in a study by Yale
researchers published in the June 10, 2011, issue of the journal
Science.
Meanwhile, smoking lowers the risk of death after heart attacks
because according to Mr. Wanjek, compared with non-smokers,
smokers who have had heart attacks seem to have lower mortality
rates and more favorable responses to two kinds of therapy to
remove plaque from their arteries: fibrinolytic therapy, which is
2 http://www.nta.da.gov.ph/about_tobacco.html
3 http://www.livescience.com/15115-5-health-benefits-smoking-disease.html

basically medication; and angioplasty, which removes the plaque by

inserting balloons or stents into the arteries.
To close my speech, I would like to quote two geniuses of our
time, on what they said about smoking. Albert Einstein said, and I
quote, I believe that smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and
objective judgment in all human affairs end quote. For C.S. Lewis,
A pipe gives a wise man time to think and a fool something to stick
in his mouth.
With this ladies and gentlemen, I end my arguments on why is it
necessary to legalize smoking in the Philippines. I am ready for
further interpolations from my opponent from the negative side.
Thank you.