[Intl-tobacco] Thai authorities have Marlboro Man fuming

[Robert Weissman]

Thai authorities have Marlboro Man fuming

by Marwaan Macan-Markar
Source: Asia Times, 2002-05-14, via tobacco.org
URL: http://atimes.com/se-asia/DE14Ae04.html

BANGKOK - Thailand's public health policies have got the Marlboro
Man shivering in his pants. The health authorities' move to place
graphic warnings on the covers of cigarette packets has prompted a
warning from Philip Morris, the giant tobacco company that
manufactures and produces Marlboro cigarettes.

The dispute could intensify in the coming weeks given Philip
Morris's reactions to the Thai government's plan - including a
threat to sue the Public Health Ministry. After all, at the heart
of this dispute is the question: Who decides what appears on the
cover of a cigarette packet?

For the moment, however, Thai health officials are undaunted. They
expect Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan to endorse new
regulations in the weeks ahead that would require all companies
manufacturing cigarettes for smokers in Thailand to place graphic
health warnings on cigarette packets.

"We are not taking the Philip Morris threat seriously. We should
stand up to such threats," says Dr Hatai Chitanondh, president of
the Institute for Thai Health Promotion. "This is a public health
issue."

"The government has the right to introduce regulations to protect
Thai people from ill health," adds Bung-on Ritthiphakdee, a
consultant at Action on Smoking and Health Foundation Thailand (ASH
Thailand), a non-governmental anti-smoking lobby. "It is a
fundamental expectation of a government."

Already, the health ministry has identified 12 pictures to appear
on cigarette packets, including those portraying graphic pictures
of lung cancer, heart disease and a curved, limp cigarette to show
the impotence suffered by male smokers. And once the new
regulations are endorsed, the companies supplying cigarettes to
Thailand - including Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan
Tobacco and the state-owned Thailand Tobacco Monopoly - will have a
12-month period to make changes and then introduce the full-color
warnings on their products.

Philip Morris, however, perceives such efforts as a violation on
two fronts, according to reports appearing in the local media. On
the one hand, the tobacco giant argues that the health ministry
requirements would infringe on its freedom of speech and
communication. On the other, the tobacco multinational says that
its trademark rights are being violated. This, it adds, is a
feature protected under the World Trade Organization's (WTO)
trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)
agreement.

The cigarette manufacturer made its views known in a letter sent to
ranking government officials, including the health minister, in
February, but it was reported for the first time in the local media
this week.

Philip Morris' effort reveals something more - that the outer cover
of cigarette packets has emerged as "an important battleground",
says Ross Hammond, a consultant at the Washington-based Campaign
for Tobacco-free Kids. "As other forms of tobacco marketing are
restricted, the tobacco package itself has become an increasingly
important part of the industry's marketing strategy," he adds,
"which is why they are fighting the efforts by the Thai health
authorities."

So far, only Brazil and Canada have public health policies that
require the display on cigarette packets of graphic, colored
warnings. The European Union is working on similar measures.
Available literature on anti-smoking websites point to the dramatic
success achieved through such measures. In Canada, for instance, a
year after the introduction of the graphic warnings, 44 percent of
smokers stated they had given thought to kicking the habit and 27
percent said they smoked less in their homes.

That, no doubt, troubles the tobacco industry given the broader
implications of Thailand's plans - to possibly encourage other
Asian countries to follow its lead at a time when the tobacco
multinationals see Asia as a prime market to push its products.
East Asia, for instance, has gained notoriety for having the
"second highest annual per capita growth rate in tobacco
consumption", according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
This high prevalence stems from some 50 to 80 percent consumption
rates among men in countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and
China. In South Korea, one in three of the country's 46 million
people smoke on average a pack a day.

Asian youth are also an increasing number among the world's
smokers, currently estimated at 1.1 billion. In Indonesia, 89
percent of young men smoke before they reach 20, according to an
earlier study by Minja Kim Chole, a population and health expert at
the East-West Centre.

In Thailand, more women are puffing away. One survey by ASH
Thailand placed the number of female smokers in Thai capital at
around 96,000, which is 33,000 more than the 63,000 female smokers
in the city in 1999. Thus, it is little wonder why Thailand's
current efforts are being cheered on by Asian anti-smoking
activists.

"It definitely serves as an example for other Southeast Asian
countries to follow, especially since Thailand is a developing
country," says Mary Assunta of the Consumers Association of Penang.
"It sends a strong message to other Southeast Asian countries that
have low incomes or are developing economies that it is possible to
have effective tobacco control measures that protect public
health."

But that is not all Thailand will have to offer its peers in its
role as Asia's first country to push for graphic tobacco warnings.
It has been three years since the Thai government triumphed on
another issue concerning the tobacco industry - getting it to
reveal to the Ministry of Public Health the list of additives and
other substances they add to their cigarettes. That achievement,
which came after five years of intense political pressure from the
US, British and Japanese governments, has "given us confidence to
face any threats from Philip Morris", says Dr Hatai.

And if a legal battle does ensue between Thai health authorities
and Philip Morris, the verdict should help answer the question: Who
decides what appears on the cover of a cigarette packet?

(Inter Press Service)