Anti-smoke Treaty's Bite To Be Tested In Thailand

[george]

Anti-Tobacco Treaty's Bite To Be Tested in Thailand

BANGKOK: -- As one of South-east Asia's leaders in the drive to snuff out smoking, Thailand has become a battleground to test how much longer cigarettes will be publicly available following an anti-tobacco international treaty that came into force on Feb. 27.

Leading anti-tobacco campaigners in the country are determined to use the new weapon in their armour - the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) - to press home their advantage over the financially powerful tobacco multinationals.

They have in mind two initiatives that are set to shake up the local smoking culture. On Mar. 25, cigarette packets sold in this country will begin displaying graphic pictures about the health hazards that come with tobacco addiction.

''These pictures will cover 50 percent of the cigarette packet,'' Dr. Hatai Chitannondh, a medical doctor who is president of the Thai Health Promotion Institute, told IPS. ''They show what smoking does to your lungs, how it affects your teeth, how it leads to premature ageing.''

This measure, which is more emphatic than what the FCTC expects -- that graphic pictorial warnings should cover 30 percent of a cigarette packet -- places Thailand as the fourth country in the world to enforce such a picture policy. The other three are Canada, Brazil and Singapore.

Another change will come into effect on May 31, marked globally as the world's anti-smoking day. ''Retail shops and small stores will not be able to publicly display cigarette packets on their racks,'' said Hatai. ''The cigarettes will have to be hidden away in drawers or cupboards, away from sight.''

Such measures come on top of Thailand having laws banning smoking in air-conditioned restaurants and bans on all forms of tobacco-related advertising.

Furthermore, in December, the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warned retailers that shops selling cigarettes to minors could be fined 750 U.S. dollars and could also face a three-month prison term.

The FCTC is also expected to strengthen the push by countries like Thailand to crackdown on cigarette smuggling.

''The biggest advantage of the treaty is that it covers trans-boundary issues such as cross- border advertising and smuggling,'' said Mary Assunta, head of the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) -- an umbrella group of over 200 anti-smoking organisations from across the world.

The treaty will be a boon to South-east Asian countries still lagging behind regional leaders like Thailand and Singapore to achieve the ''minimum standards'' in tobacco control measures, added Assunta during an interview. ''In countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos where local legislation is lacking, this treaty will empower the governments to act.''

According to a World Bank study, cigarette smuggling is a ''serious problem'' and the global amount of the cigarettes taken illegally across borders is estimated at 355 billion. ''Most smuggled cigarettes are well-known international brands,'' the Bank adds.

The tobacco multinationals encourage the sales of these smuggled cigarettes, revealed an article in the December 2004 issue of 'Tobacco Control,' a quarterly publication of the 'British Medical Journal.'

''Smuggling operations were key to BAT's (British American Tobacco) broader efforts to penetrate the huge Chinese market,'' states the article. ''Plans for Cambodia rested on its strategic value to regional contraband, and Laos seems to have been largely viewed in terms of its smuggling potential.''

According available estimates, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines have this region's highest number of smokers, the majority being men. Nearly 73 percent of the men smoke in Vietnam, while 70 percent of the men do so in Cambodia and 68 percent in Indonesia.

In Thailand, on the other hand, there are an estimated 12 million smokers out of a population of 64 million people. Of that number, nearly 1.2 million are teenagers.

The FCTC sets new global standards for countries to adhere to in the fight against tobacco consumption. This international law's language to protect people from the hazards of smoking calls for a slew of measures - including an increase in tobacco taxation - with no hint of compromise towards the tobacco multinationals.

Currently, there are 1.3 billion smokers worldwide, states the World Health Organisation (WHO), of which some 650 million ''will die prematurely due to tobacco.''

The Geneva-based U.N. agency estimates that nearly five million people die annually to tobacco-related illnesses, a number that could rise to 10 million deaths every year by 2020 if prevailing smoking trends continue.

The push for the FCTC, the world's first public health treaty, was led by the WHO. Over 160 countries and the European Union have signed the treaty and 57 nations have ratified it, giving it the necessary support to become law.

The South-east Asian nations who have ratified the FCTC are Brunei, Burma, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

That South-east Asia remains pivotal in this global campaign against smoking is reflected in the WHO's assessment that this region has the ''second highest annual per capita growth rate in tobacco consumption.''

Hatai, the Thai public health activist, is determined that Thailand helps buck this trend in South-east Asia and emerge as a model for others to follow. ''We want Thailand to be the gold standard in implementing the FCTC and controlling tobacco.''

--IPS 2005-02-28

[sriracha john]

Anti-Tobacco Treaty's Bite To Be Tested in Thailand

''We want Thailand to be the gold standard in implementing the FCTC and controlling tobacco.''

"gold standard". I like it so much better than "hub".

[Humphrey Bear]

And by having graphic pictures on the packets, the police will easily be able to identify smuggled cigarettes.

Will tourists have to declare their (foreign-bought) gaspers on the way in?

Is this 'hiding-in-the-closet' stunt for one day, or is it a permanent fixture after the end of March? The article does not make this clear (to me).

Pity the world's governments rely on the tax income so much. Prevents outright world-wide ban.

But yaa baa and heroin / cocaine / so on are not a tax revenue source, so why are they still prevalent? Tobacco would probably go the same way, 'cos it is as addictive (chemically) as any other drug. And more annoying to non-users.

[pedro01]

And by having graphic pictures on the packets, the police will easily be able to identify smuggled cigarettes.

Will tourists have to declare their (foreign-bought) gaspers on the way in?

Is this 'hiding-in-the-closet' stunt for one day, or is it a permanent fixture after the end of March? The article does not make this clear (to me).

Pity the world's governments rely on the tax income so much. Prevents outright world-wide ban.

But yaa baa and heroin / cocaine / so on are not a tax revenue source, so why are they still prevalent? Tobacco would probably go the same way, 'cos it is as addictive (chemically) as any other drug. And more annoying to non-users.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

errr - actually I think heroin is a tad more addictive than tobacco.

Not actually seen anyone hallucinate coming off ciggies.

Hopefully Tobacco will go the same way one-day - it's a daft habit considering...