Armageddon was cancelled last December 21, 2012 (the Mayans miscalculated, they detest Algebra just like you and me) but for the smokers of Barangay Aganan, Pavia, Iloilo (and in some part of the nation), it seems like doomsday had just started the moment the clock's hands signaled the entry of the year 2013. In just a matter of days after the new year, the supply of cigarettes suddenly became scarce as packets of this "deadly commodity" started to disappear one by one in their display counters like righteous believers caught up in the rapture of the Second Coming. Not only that, the carcinogenic babies' prize have also doubled because of the effectivity of R.A. 10531, otherwise known as the Sin Tax Law, which made some smokers flinched upon knowing the new price hike like somebody inside their bodies had just switched on the start button of the withdrawal syndrome.
I am a "tindero" right now in my aunt's mini-convenient store here in Aganan (a job which is not bad for a penniless Filipino registered nurse like me) that is why I know all the sentiments of most of the smokers in this place. With regards to the increase in prize, some said on the spot that they will quit smoking for good but of course they meant it half-heartedly. Old habits are hard to die. On the other hand, the issue about the depleting supply of cigarettes in malls and retail stores, intelligent smokers with neurons activated by nicotine have theorized that the distributors are hoarding last years stocks so that when the Sin Tax Law will take it's effect, they can sold it for the prize ordered by the law. A very clever business strategy they said. Thus, the latter event has caused a lot of smokers to look for the brand of cigarettes they prefer anywhere and everywhere. Like worker ants searching for food. Some of them even reached the point of searching these brands in remote barrios' sari-sari stores since most of the malls and grocery stores in the city and poblacion areas were out-of-stocked. There was this guy who every night asked me if we already have a stock of Marlboro black and everytime I answer "no", it was like the sky literally fall on him, his face an utter canvass of sadness and misery. Puldo, a trisikad driver here in Aganan, have tried to substitute his favorite Marlboro original with the cheaper Westpoint brand since the former brand was absent for almost a week in the display counter and the latter have been snubbed for a long time that it stayed there for a month, untouched. After consuming a stick, Puldo replied that smoking Westpoint instead of Marlboro is like having sex with 10 layers of condom covering your penis. Totally bland and tasteless. Since I am not a smoker, I could not directly relate to his metaphor. But when he said that it's like sipping lukewarm Pepsi instead of ice-cold Coke, I totally got him right away.
I really can't say as of now if this Sin Tax Law is the answer to lessen the incidents of diseases brought about by smoking. As what I have mentioned earlier, old habits are hard to die. 3-5 pesos per stick of cigarette is already painful for the pocket especially if you are just a minimum-waged earner. But when tingling of the extremities, profuse sweating, cramps, nausea, headache, sore throat, coughing, insomnia, mental confusion, irritability, anxiety and depression set in, I'm sure these chain-smokers will return to their old vice no matter what the cost. Smokers have their grip on the stick but the truth is, nicotine has its grips on the smokers' lives. I know that it is not easy to get out from addiction because it needs a very strong will power. That is why I pray for all the smokers who will try to quit smoking this year, may the force be with you all. For all those smokers who haven't decided yet, another surge of cigarette prize hike will happen next year as indicated by the Sin Tax Law so better think about it or you may be buying a cigarette pack next year at the same cost of the underwear brand you are wearing. Lastly, as a health professional, I still believe that educating smokers is still the best way to convince them to start quitting.
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