Although cigarettes and liquor enjoy booming online sales during the pandemic. The shipment of cigarettes and liquor to the comforts of buyers’ homes, which may include minors. It is what the Department of Finance (DOF) wants to avoid selling the “sin” goods in digital markets.
To ensure that such items are not available to minors, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III in DOF said on Saturday “we will push to ban cigarette and liquor sales online.”
The 2003 Tobacco Regulation Act bars cigarette makers from advertising, including the web. But, there is no law that prevents them from selling in online marketplaces.
Presidential Decree No. 1619, issued in 1979, prohibits the selling of “volatile substances which cause intoxication” to minors.
In the midst of the quarantine which restricts people’s movement and access to certain goods and services, online sales are booming — and cigarette sales are no exception.
New Rules for Persons Under the Age of 21
Persons under the age of 21 are still barred from moving outside their homes even under general community quarantine (GCQ). The enforcement was on June 1 in Metro Manila. In other areas, GCQ had been announced earlier.
As a result of the lockdown which aims to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, minors have been cooped up in their homes since March 16.
Only a few weeks ago the ban on the selling of liquor. The local governments imposed to discourage casual drinking. In addition, it aims to avoid the spread of the latest coronavirus.
A check with e-commerce platform Lazada on Sunday showed popular cigarette brands being sold at big discounts of 15 percent to 55 percent.
For instance, the price of a ream of mentholated Marlboro containing 10 packs of 20 sticks for each. It slashed 42 percent to P1,050 from P1,800.
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