Bill on = graphic health warnings on cigarette packs pushed - The Philippine Star = =C2=BB News =C2=BB Headlines

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Bill = on=20 graphic health warnings on cigarette packs = pushed=20
By=20 Marvin Sy (The=20 Philippine Star) Updated June 28, 2011 12:00 AM = = Comments=20 (0) = =20

MANILA, Philippines - There is an ongoing global campaign to = reduce=20 smoking, primarily through the use of graphic health warnings and = one of=20 the local supporters of this campaign is hoping to see the same = program=20 instituted locally through legislation.

Sen. Pia Cayetano expressed hope that the second filing of her = proposed=20 bill mandating picture-based warnings on tobacco product packaging = could=20 be a lucky charm.

But while she is optimistic that more countries are adopting = this=20 effort to reduce smoking and tobacco-related deaths and diseases, = Cayetano=20 admitted that the lobbying by the tobacco companies against this = measure=20 is very strong, based on her experience from her first attempt to = have her=20 bill passed.

=E2=80=9CAs chairperson of the Senate committee on health and = demography in the=20 14th Congress, I heard and then sponsored the bill mandating = picture-based=20 warnings on tobacco products. I defended this bill on the floor = and was=20 hoping it would pass, but there was strong resistance from some = senators.=20 It was very disappointing,=E2=80=9D she said.

Cayetano is once again chair of that committee and undaunted by = her=20 lack of success in the previous Congress, she has re-filed her = bill, which=20 is now known as Senate Bill 2340 or the proposed Picture-Based = Health=20 Warning Law.

She said the graphic health warnings have proven to be = effective in=20 bringing down the number of smokers.

In Brazil, Cayetano noted that two-thirds of smokers said that = they=20 wanted to quit smoking after seeing the graphic warnings. Almost = half of=20 Canadian smokers (44 percent) said that the warnings increased = their=20 motivation to quit smoking, while another 27 percent said they = smoked less=20 inside their homes as a result of the warnings.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand and Singapore also reported some = positive=20 results from the use of graphic health warnings on cigarette = packaging.=20 Around 44 percent of smokers in Thailand said that the warnings = made them=20 a lot more likely to quit over the next month. In Singapore, 28 = percent=20 said they consume less cigarettes as a result of the warnings = while 14=20 percent said they avoided smoking in front of their children.

=E2=80=9CWe need the bill to deter new smokers, especially = among the youth, try=20 to lessen the urge of existing smokers, as well as implement our=20 commitment under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control = (FCTC), which=20 is an international treaty initiated by the World Health = Assembly,=E2=80=9D=20 Cayetano said, noting that the Philippines acceded to the FCTC in = 2005 and=20 among its commitments under the treaty is to comply with certain = standards=20 such as tobacco price and tax increases, advertising and = sponsorship by=20 tobacco companies, illicit trade and second-hand smoke.

=E2=80=9CMore importantly, the FCTC recommends implementing = effective measures=20 on packaging and labeling of tobacco products, such as the = adoption of a=20 picture-based health warning on tobacco packages,=E2=80=9D she = said.

Former health secretary Esperanza Cabral had issued an = administrative=20 order in 2010 mandating the use of graphic health warnings on = cigarette=20 packaging in compliance with the country=E2=80=99s obligations = under the FCTC.

However, this was challenged in court by the tobacco companies = and was=20 granted an injunction by the Regional Trial Court of Malolos, = Bulacan.

Cayetano noted that Cabral and former health secretaries = Francisco=20 Duque III, Jaime Galvez-Tan, Alberto Romualdez and Alfredo Bengzon = filed a=20 motion to intervene before the Supreme Court (SC) and were granted = that=20 motion last April.

In their petition before the SC, the former health secretaries = said=20 that =E2=80=9Cit is our moral responsibility to continue to = protect public health=20 interest from an industry that fosters disease and death in its = regular=20 course of business.=E2=80=9D

They also said that =E2=80=9Cthe meddling of the tobacco = industry is preventing=20 the DOH (Department of Health) from carrying out its mandate to = protect=20 and preserve the health and lives of Filipinos.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CI know the tobacco lobby is strong but policy makers = and legislators=20 should not hesitate to support policies and legislation that will = promote=20 the health of Filipinos. This is mandated in Section 15 of the = Philippine=20 Constitution, which says that the State shall protect and promote = the=20 right to health of the people and instill health consciousness = among=20 them,=E2=80=9D Cayetano said.

But whether or not Malaca=C3=B1ang will support this measure is = another=20 thing, considering that President Aquino is a known=20 smoker.