Japan Tobacco International (JTI) Philippines Inc said it would continue its expansion in the Philippines despite the Sin Tax Reform Act. The Sin Tax was enacted in January 1 this year. It would result to higher taxes on cigarettes.

JTI Philippines Inc General Manager Manos Koukourakis said that the impact of the law could hardly be felt. He cited that the market share of JTI only fell around 0.6% to 0.7% this year. He said, "We are not happy, but we are not devastated because we are expecting bigger loss. Our company, throughout the years, we will be able to maintain our current market share which is about 3%."

Part of JTI's expansion program included the introduction of premium cigarette brands in the Philippine market. Camel, Winston and Mevius (Mild Seven) are some of JTI's Philippine market brands. "One thing that is certain, our company is here to stay. There are many good efforts in progress to control this sort of consumption. We want to grow our business, we will probably invest more than what we've invested today," Koukourakis told ABS-CBN News.