[Intl-tobacco] Thai dispute over packaging of cigarettes

[Robert Weissman]

The reference to copyright in this story is almost certainly meant to be trademark.


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/page.news.php3?clid=3&id=3295


Delay has anti-nicotine activists fuming

Published on Oct 30, 2002

Anti-smoking lobbyists are furious at the Office of the Council of State's
rejection of full-colour images approved for warnings on cigarette packets,
saying that health authorities are unnecessarily delaying their introduction.

Dr Manit Theeratantikanont, deputy director of the Communicable Disease
Control Department, said yesterday that the office had sent the warnings
back to the Public Health Ministry for review because the pictures might
breach copyrights.

Manit, who also oversees the Tobacco Consumption Control Division, cited a
picture of an unhappy couple sitting back-to-back in bed, which was to
accompany the warning that smoking caused impotence.

The ministry also had to be very careful to avoid the problems faced by
Canada, the first country to use pictorial warnings.

Canadian cigarette companies took the government to court claiming that the
enforcement of warnings violated Canada's constitution.

However, Dr Prakit Vateesatokit, the dean of the Rama Thibodi Hospital's
medical collage, said the case in Canada did not apply to Thailand. "I would
call it an irregularity if these new warnings are not finally approved," he
said.

Dr Hatai Chitanonth, president of the Thailand Health Promotion Institute,
who helped initiate the idea to adopt the warnings, said the delay in
enforcing the ministerial announcement was very dubious.

"I am furious that the ministry sent the warnings to the Office [of the
Council of State] as there was no need," said Hatai.

And this time, he said, he suspected that some cigarette companies had
something to do with the delay.

Arthit Khwankhom,

Usa Shevajumroen

THE NATION
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