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Volume 56
April 2015
Cambodia: National Assembly Ratifies TC Law
Phnom Penh: On 8 April the Cambodian National Assembly Plenary Session ratified the Tobacco
Control Law. It garnered a unanimous 100 percent vote - 93/93. This speaks loudly for the full support
the Parliament gave to protect the public from the harms of tobacco use. In a statement by Prime
Minister Hun Sen which was read out in Parliament, the law is to educate and reduce tobacco use.
This law has been in the making for more than 13 years because the tobacco industry engaged in all
kinds of interference tactics to delay and defeat the legislation. However tobacco control advocates such
as Cambodia Movement for Health, the World Health Organization and lawyers came together and
worked tirelessly to support the Ministry of Health in their efforts to get this important law passed.
Overwhelming evidence that tobacco use kills almost 10,000 Cambodians every year and makes many
more sick and poor convinced the various Commissions of National Assembly that this law is much
needed to protect health of the people. The tobacco industry was defeated in Cambodia!
Heartiest congratulations to Cambodia!
Thailand: Despite New Sports Tax, Tobacco Industry will Increase Sales
Bangkok: 28 March – A new sports tax obtained from tobacco is being put in place. The tobacco
industry is grumbling about how smokers in Thailand will have to pay 2% extra for a new Sports tax
although it is just 1 baht more.
The industry is complaining that smokers are currently paying 3 billion baht a year to the Thai Health
Promotion Foundation and 2 billion baht to ThaiPBS. The new sports tax will yield about 3 billion baht a
year. While the tobacco industry is drawing attention to the billions of baht smokers are paying, it forgot
to tell the public a few important details:
• Smokers will pay only 1 baht extra which they can very well afford. What can 1 baht buy anyway?
There are 10.7 million smokers in Thailand who have to smoke everyday.
•
The tobacco industry makes billions of baht in savings by importing tax-free tobacco leaf within the
ASEAN through AFTA to reduce its cost of production.
The industry will still be making big profits. The forecast of annual cigarette sales will increase from 48
billion sticks in 2013 to about 50 billion sticks in 2018. The value of these cigarettes is an increase from
136 billion baht in 2013 to about 154 billion baht in 2018.
Ban Cigarette Filters to Curb Hazardous
Tobacco Waste
Indonesia: Minister for Social Affairs Under
Fire for Giving Free Cigarettes to the Poor
USA: Thomas Novotny of the San Diego State
University and Elli Slaughter are proposing litigation
to hold the tobacco industry legally responsible for
clean-up and nuisance costs associated with their
products, advocating the use of labels on cigarette
packages about the toxicity of discarded butts, and a
deposit-return scheme. Their suggestions are
published in a review article in Current
Environmental Health Reports.
Jakarta: 30 March – Minister for Social Affairs came
under fire for distributing free cigarettes to an
indigenous community in Jambi. The Minister was
visiting the area to express her condolences for the
death of eleven people who had died of starvation and
the cigarettes formed part of package of food and
clothing handed to the local people. Minister in Hot
Water for Encouraging Smoking
Cigarette butts and other tobacco waste are the
most commonly picked items during urban and
beach clean-ups worldwide. An estimated 4.5 trillion
of the annual 6 trillion cigarettes sold worldwide,
create waste problem that can harm the
environment and contaminate water sources,
reports environmentresearchweb. Cigarette filters is
a big contributor to the waste. Plastic cigarette filters
are practically non-biodegradable and can leach
chemicals up to ten years. Novotny and Slaughter
are proposing a ban on filtered cigarettes too.
Tobacco control advocate, Tulus Abadi from the
Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) claimed the
Minister’s actions were in direct violation of the 2012
Government Regulation on tobacco control, which
forbids free distribution and discounts for tobacco
products. YLKI and the Advocates’ Solidarity
Movement for Tobacco Control (SAPTA) are
investigating whether the cigarettes came directly from
tobacco producers. A suit against the Minister is being
considered. The Jakarta Citizens Forum (FAKTA) is
considering to widen the suit against the Minister for
failure to uphold tobacco control regulations.
Thakolsuk Place, Room 2B, 115 Thoddamri Road, Nakornchaisri, Dusit Bangkok 10300, Thailand www.seatca.org