Potato chips could be part of salty food products eyed for ”sin” tax: DOH

October 31, 2019

Salty food products may be lumped with cigarettes and sugary drinks as among those considered as "sin" products.

The Department of Health (DOH) is looking at the possibility of imposing a tax on salty food products as it is looked upon as one of the main causes of non-communicable diseases.

Potato chips and other salty snacks are on top of the list of the DOH.

In a radio interview, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said they are primarily looking at potato chips in a bid to make them less accessible to the public.

"High in our list are potato chips, among others. They are really salty. We can probably start with them," said Duque.

Duque believes there won't be much resistance if junk foods are targetted for salty product taxes since they are deemed as non-essential.

On Tuesday, Duque said: "We've seen the positive effects on increasing taxes on sin products. The same strategy might work also for excessive consumption of salt." 

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said they are also looking at how to  encourage people to lower salt intake.

This, she said, include manufacturers and consumers putting less salt in their food products.

"We want them to reduce salt in their food. For example, in bread, maybe we can slowly reduce salt content so we can prevent hypertension. Also, when we cook, let us lessen salt since this can easily be adjusted based on our taste later on," said Cabotaje.

According to the United Nations Interagency Task Force (UNIATF), high salt use is one of the main causes of  non-communicable diseases in the Philippines, such as hypertension, end-stage renal failure, and cardiovascular illnesses.

UNIATF External Relations Officer Alexey Kulikov said Filipinos consume about 11 grams of salt per day.

"Salt consumption in the Philippines is about two times higher than the WHO recommended level. The WHO recommended level is two grams of sodium per day, which is about about 5 grams of salt," said Kulikov in a press conference.

"Eating salty food is just too much and it is already proving to have negative consequences and is impacting on the health of our people," said Duque.

Based on World Health Organization (WHO) data, 68 percent of deaths in the Philippines are caused by non-communicable diseases, which include  cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and chronic respiratory diseases. DMS