MANILA -
Approaching the November deadline for compliance with the Graphic Health
Warnings Law, the Philippines "shines as a leader" in Southeast Asia
in the campaign against the interference of the tobacco industry in crafting
policies for a healthy populations, according to Dr. Mary Assunta Kolandai,
senior policy advisor to the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA),
in a press conference at the World Health Organization Regional Office for the
Western Pacific (WPRO) in Manila.
In the
Philippines, all cigarette packages must have graphic health warnings by November,
as prescribed by Republic Act No. 10643, or the Graphic Health Warnings Law.
Kolandai
presented the 2016 Tobacco Industry Interference Index, which measures how nine
countries in the region fared with regard to Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which states that countries
"need to be alert to any efforts by the tobacco industry to undermine or
subvert tobacco control efforts," and have to be "informed of
activities of the tobacco industry that have a negative impact on tobacco
control efforts."
The
Philippines ranked second, behind Brunei Darussalam, in its implementation of
Article 5.3. It is followed by Cambodia and Malaysia, both coming in third,
then Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
Kolandai
added that the Philippines was "leading the way" in curbing
interaction with the tobacco industry, pointing out that, while Brunei
maintained its good standing, the Philippines had introduced concrete measures
to prevent or reduce tobacco industry interference.
She
lauded the Code of Conduct for civil servants, which acts as a firewall between
Filipino public officials and the tobacco industry.
Atty.
Krunimar Escudero III of the Civil Service Commission elaborated that the
CSC-Department of Health Joint Memorandum Circular 2010-01 (JMC) is a policy
that prohibits government officials from interacting with the tobacco industry.
"The
only interaction that may happen is when the government agency wields the
function of supervision, regulation, and control over the industry," he
said.
The goal
is to protect public officials from being influenced by the tobacco industry.
Unfortunately,
many local government units (LGUs) have been "notorious" for
violating the JMC.
"The
tobacco industry takes advantage of the sometimes lack of awareness in the
LGUs, especially their leaders," Escudero said.
He
recalled instances where he would call up LGU leaders and ask about their
meetings with representatives of the tobacco industry. They honestly did not
know that they should not have done that.
Sure
enough, when he checked up with them afterwards, they told him that
representatives of the tobacco industry tried to meet up with them again, and
they declined.
Escudero
said the CSC had recorded several "tactics" of the tobacco industry
to try to interfere with policy formation, especially in LGUs when these try to
formulate ordinances for smoke-free spaces.
For
example, tobacco industry representatives would suggest that LGUs exclude
provisions that ought to be standard, according to the FCTC. They would try to
insert provisions favorable to them in the policies, or try to lower the LGUs'
standards.
In short,
they tried to water down ordinances and public health policies, or prolong or
stall the local legislation processes.
As for
policies that were already in place, they would quiz about the enforcement of
these, or take advantage of lapses in enforcement, as well as the public's lack
of awareness regarding existing laws.
The
tobacco industry would also try co-opting tactics like donating funds or
equipment to the LGU, or sponsor town activities.
Kolandai
noted that tobacco companies had also increased their spending on corporate
social responsibility projects in Southeast Asia.
Philip
Morris International (PMI), for example, reportedly spends US$1.8 million on
CSR in the Philippines. According to the report, it increased its spending in
the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand from USD 1.5 million in 2009 to USD 2.5
million in 2015.
The
problem, according to the report, was that "tobacco companies use CSR
activities to circumvent laws regulating the industry, and deploying strategies
to gain access to elected officials who are empowered to approve and implement
tobacco control policies."
Kolandai
noted that CSR activities conducted by tobacco companies are not banned in
Southeast Asia, although Article 5.3 recommends that countries
"denormalize" such activities.
She
believed that among the countries, there needed to be more transparency with
regard to government officials' interaction with representatives of the tobacco
industry.
She said
all such interactions must be disclosed, and government officials need to
record and document all their meetings, and their outcomes.
Kolandai
added that only Brunei, Malaysia, and Myanmar refused to accommodate requests
from the tobacco industry for a longer implementation timeline or postponement
of the tobacco control law in 2015.
To avoid
conflict of interest, Brunei also prohibited political contributions from the
tobacco industry.
The
tobacco sector must not be treated like any other industry or investor,
Kolandai said.
Tobacco
use, after all, kills approximately six million people every year worldwide.
The
Western Pacific Region has one third of the world's smokers. Here, two persons
die every minute from tobacco-related diseases.
"Based
on our monitoring, there's been partial compliance with the graphic warning
requirement," Health Justice Philippines managing director Irene Reyes said.
Dr. Susan
Mercado, director of Noncommunicable Diseases and Health through the
Life-Course at the WPRO, wants the next step to be standardized or plain
packaging.
Here,
graphic health warnings are to cover as much as 80 percent of the cigarette
pack. The brand name will be "very small", and there will be no
attractive design or modifiers like "light" and "no tar".
Tricia Aquino
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