‘ASEAN must harmonize rules to combat illicit tobacco trade’

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must harmonize its trade rules to effectively combat the illicit tobacco trade, according to a spokesperson from Japan Tobacco International (JTI) Philippines. Mario Zinampan, fiscal and regulatory affairs director at JTI Philippines, emphasized that the absence of a destination principle in various ASEAN countries allows criminal syndicates to exploit regulatory gaps and proliferate illicit tobacco.

The destination principle requires exporters to comply with the legal and regulatory requirements of their destination markets, which has proven effective in preventing the diversion of goods. This absence of a unified rule in ASEAN has resulted in the Philippines becoming a destination for illicit tobacco products, with criminal networks taking advantage of the weakest link.

Zinampan highlighted that illicit tobacco trade is no longer a domestic issue but a regional problem, and urged ASEAN to align export control rules and harmonize the destination principle to close loopholes and strengthen enforcement. According to an industry report, illicit cigarette and e-vape sales across ASEAN-6 markets reached 145 billion sticks last year, resulting in a combined revenue loss of $13.1 billion for the six countries over the past two years.

The Philippines alone suffered a revenue loss of P141 billion from 2024 to 2025, and illicit operators earned P127 billion during the same period. Zinampan stressed that the Philippines is not facing a domestic problem but a part of an illicit trade supply chain, and emphasized that to defeat this regional threat, ASEAN must act as one unified entity.