Tobacco industry accused of delaying passage of picture-based health warning on cigarette packs » PinoyPress

Tobacco industry accused of delaying passage of picture-based health warning on cigarette packs » PinoyPress

I was reminded of this article by a fellow advocate, who, while reminding a smoker that it was illegal to smoke in certain public places, was told by that smoker "Why? Who do you think you are? I'm a policeman."
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25 July 2008

Tobacco industry accused of delaying passage of picture-based health warning on cigarette packs

Reminiscent of the House deliberation on the Cheaper Medicines bill, the health alliance against smoking, in a statement today says, some legislators are trying to delay the passage of the public health legislation on tobacco regulation by using the quorum issue during the committee hearing Tuesday.

Ifugao Rep. Solomon R. Chungalao threatened to question the quorum of the meeting of the Committee on Health Tuesday even before Committee Chair Arthur Pingoy has called the meeting to order. Rep. Chugalao said he will move for the adjournment of the meeting unless the committee defers the deliberation on House Bill 3364, or the Picture-Based Health Warning Bill. His motion was seconded by APEC Party list Rep. Edgar Valdez.

“We were shocked by the manner by which the tobacco industry has used their powers to block the passage of this public health measure that aims to improve the lives and health of the Filipinos. We were further stunned by the fact that Rep. Chungalao left the committee meeting as soon as he got his wish.,” said Dr. Maricar Limpin, Executive Director of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance-Philippines (FCAP).

According to Limpin, the motion was upheld by the committee and successfully delayed the committee deliberation of the bill until next week.

“We understand the importance of the other health bills in the agenda. But there seems to be a double standard when the Picture-Based Health Warning Bill was singled out. A bigger hand must be working on these as the tobacco industry has been doing everything in their powers to intervene, even in other countries,” Limpin added.

Voice of the voiceless

FCAP said the members of the Philippine Laryngectomee Club, those who lost their vocal chords due to smoking and passive smoking came and were ready to speak, but the tobacco industry will not give them a chance.

“It’s terrible, very unfair. What is the use of prolonging the deliberation of the bill? We’re only asking for appropriating a portion of the cigarette packs to print the graphic and more real dangers of smoking,” said Elizabeth Pomer, a member of the Stroke Survivors Society, herself a former smoker until she suffered a stroke in 1999.

Plot thickens

The incident in Tuesday’s committee hearing further thickened when APEC Rep. Valdez reprimanded Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, Program Manager of Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) and warned he will block the passage of the bill.

According to Dorotheo, he called the attention of Rep. Valdez earlier, before the committee meeting started because the legislator was smoking inside the Mitra building, in the House of Representatives, the area being a non-smoking by law.

“The legislator was definitely offended by my action and used the bill to exact revenge. This was surely not a public service. The Filipino people should learn from this experience, especially when they elect their representatives to the honorable halls of Congress,” said Dorotheo.

Dorotheo said Article 5.3 of the international public health treaty law, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), of which the Philippines is a signatory, warns governments to be wary of tobacco industry’s vested interest to undermine health policies every step of the way.

“The industry’s lobbying and corruption done in other countries reflect the character of the legislators who will speak for the tobacco industry,” added Dorotheo.

Dorotheo, Limpin and Pomer were among the resource persons in the committee hearing yesterday.

Officials of the Department of Health also attended to testify on the impact on public health of tobacco-related diseases. The DOH published a full page ad yesterday in relation to this bill.

Rep. Arthur Pingoy, Chair of the Committee on Health scheduled the next meeting on May 21, Wednesday. (end)

No to the RECTOmized sin tax bill !

As chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Sen. Ralph Recto sponsored a substitute bill on Tuesday that appears to have been written by the sin tax industries.

In his presentation, Recto claims that ordinary Filipinos (not the industry) will suffer because of high taxes and that smuggling will worsen because of high taxes, despite the scientific evidence against these industry-propelled myths.  He then proposes a 121% tax increase in 2013 for low-priced cigarette brands, which in reality translates to only 3.28 pesos per pack or 16 centavos per stick.  For more "expensive" brands, it is only a 10-centavo per stick tax increase.  This is ridiculous, as the industry can easily absorb the tax increase to keep prices low, thus having absolutely no impact on consumption; people will continue to smoke because it will remain cheap to do so.

According to WHO, tobacco will kill one BILLION people this century, mostly in low and middle-income countries. Tobacco is an equal opportunity killer and is thus a non-partisan issue. Regardless of your political affiliation, tell our politicians running in the 2013 elections not to take tobacco money and find out where they stand on the issue. Will they be a part of the global tobacco epidemic or part of the solution?

Tobacco companies are not normal corporations and should not be considered "stakeholders" in tobacco control. They are the problem, not part of the solution. They are pariahs and should not be writing tobacco control policy or tobacco tax laws in the Philippines or any other country.