Woman arrested in Davao City for selling cigarettes without health warnings

DAVAO CITY (July 4) -The Philippine anti-smuggling teams conducted a buy-bust operation in Davao City under “Oplan MegaShopper” on the evening of July 2, 2025, .

The operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), together with Bunawan Police Station and the Davao City Vice Regulation Unit (Anti-Smoking Section), arrested a 44-year-old woman whom police identified only as alias “Rohana” found selling cartons of cigarettes without the required graphic health warning labels.

Officers confiscated dozens of cigarette cartons (estimated ~₱660,000 total value) and the van used to transport them. This case is handled under Republic Act 10643 (the Graphic Health Warnings Law) and other statutes.

The opertions was conducted to “prevent the health risk these substandard cigarettes may cause,” highlighting the police commitment to enforcing laws that protect public health.

CIDG officers inspect confiscated cigarette boxes during an anti-illicit tobacco operation in the Philippines.

Based on the provisions of Republic Act 10643 – the Graphic Health Warnings Law – requires all tobacco packaging to carry large, full-color images warning about smoking’s harms covering 50% of the front and back of packs.

The law’s purpose is to “instill health consciousness” by graphically illustrating smoking’s dangersextranet.who.intvitalstrategies.org. Violating this law (e.g. selling cigarettes without the mandated warnings) is a prosecutable offense.

In fact, CIDG agents have already charged recent suspects under RA 10643. For example, in March 2025 three men unloading 600 master cases of unmarked cigarettes in Davao del Sur were charged for violating RA 10643newsinfo.inquirer.net, and a 2023 Davao City case also cited RA 10643 alongside customs violationsnewsinfo.inquirer.net.

From a public-health standpoint, graphic warnings are proven to raise awareness of smoking’s harms and encourage quitting. Tobacco use is a major health burden in the Philippines, it kills over 71,000 Filipinos annually (about 8 per hour) and accounts for roughly 20% of adult deaths.

The Department of Health estimates that tobacco costs the Philippine economy, ₱188 billion (~US$3.95 billion) yearly in healthcare and productivity. The Graphic Health Warnings Law and related campaigns aim to curb this toll by informing consumers. As one CIDG official warned, smuggled or counterfeit cigarettes “often bypass safety standards, exposing the public to potential health hazards,” and by being sold cheaply they can even undermine anti-smoking campaigns (e.g. by making tobacco more accessible to youth).

Law Enforcement and Economic Impact

The Davao City bust is part of a nationwide CIDG push against illicit tobacco. In recent months alone, CIDG operations have netted tens of millions in illegal cigarettes. For instance, an April 2025 three-day sweep in Mindanao and Luzon confiscated ₱45.4 million worth of smuggled and counterfeited cigarettespna.gov.ph. Another regional raid in Central Mindanao (August 2024) seized over ₱5.6 million worth of cigarette cartons. These large figures underscore the economic scale of the illicit tobacco trade – revenues that, if legal, would contribute excise taxes and support legitimate businesses.

The seized cigarettes in the Davao operation alone (around several hundred thousand pesos worth) represent lost tax revenue and consumer protections. Smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes by definition evade duties and regulations – “depriving the government of billions in revenue” while undercutting law-abiding retailers and fueling organized syndicates. In addition, illicit products may be of substandard quality, further endangering public health.

By disrupting these networks, law enforcement not only upholds the letter of tobacco laws (like RA 10643) but also supports broader public health goals. Torre emphasized that these actions “protect and promote the right to health” by shielding consumers from harmful, unregulated productspna.gov.ph. In summary, the July 2 buy-bust in Davao exemplifies the authorities’ dual focus: cracking down on economic crimes and enforcing health warnings designed to deter smoking.

Authorities emphasize that enforcing RA 10643 is crucial for public health and tax integritynewsinfo.inquirer.netextranet.who.int. Cigarette seizures have become common, recent operations have reclaimed millions of pesos in illicit tobaccopna.gov.ph. These efforts highlight how unregulated cigarettes pose a dual threat: they evade taxes (hurting government revenue) and bypass life-saving health warnings (risking consumer safety).