It is best to clearly distinguish tobacco smoking from the other uses of tobacco.
Plain packaging is just one proven public health intervention to decrease smoking. There are many others. Is Than Sein of the People's Health Foundation working on them?
Who funded this event?
Jamie
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Warnings on tobacco products to be enforced
Myint Kay Thi
Myanmar Times
Wednesday, 01 June 2016
During this year’s World No Tobacco Day, special attention was given to warning labels that have to appear on all brands of tobacco products in Myanmar from September.
The People’s Health Foundation organised a ceremony for the day at Taw Win Garden Hotel in Yangon yesterday.
This year’s theme set by the World Health Organization for World No Tobacco Day was “Get ready for plain packaging”. Plain packaging does not allow for “logos, colours, brand images and promotional information on packaging other than brand and product names displayed in a standard colour and font style”, according to the WHO.
Though Myanmar, like other Southeast Asian member states, will not adopt plain packaging, it will display pictorial and text health warnings.
Dr Than Sein, the president of the People’s Health Foundation, said that smoking rates in Myanmar are still high but should decrease once health warnings are printed on the packaging of tobacco products.
The government issued a directive on February 29 that all tobacco products should carry pictorial and text health warnings that cover over 75 percent of the space on the packaging. From September, the regulation will be enforced.
“The public needs to obey the tobacco law to decrease the rate of smoking and the consumption of other tobacco products,” said Dr Than Sein.
He emphasised that apart from smoking, chewing of tobacco and betel is a big problem in Myanmar.
The government adopted the Control of Smoking and Consumption of Tobacco Product Law on May 4, 2006, to reduce the number of people using tobacco and tobacco-related products. The law contains rules on non-smoking areas and regulations to control the sale, production and advertising of tobacco products.
Whoever produces, distributes or sells tobacco without a warning sign could be given a fine of K10,000 to K30,0000 for a first offence and be imprisoned up to one year on top of a fine for subsequent offences.
Dr Win Lwin, head of the Yangon Region department of health, said he had met with six cigarette companies to discuss the packaging restrictions, together with officials from the Food and Drug Administration, the Myanmar Investment Commission, and other related departments.
“Cooperation is needed to control tobacco products and to decrease smoking because it is a public health issue,” he said.
According to the ministry of health and sports, Myanmar has participated in the Global Tobacco Surveillance System since 2011.
A 2014 WHO survey shows that smokers amount to about 22pc of the adult population. About 44.8pc of men and 7.8pc of women are smokers. Of Myanmar’s youth, 6.8pc were found to smoke cigarettes and 9.8pc consumed smokeless tobacco products.
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/yangon/20600-warnings-on-tobacco-products-to-be-enforced.html
