Starting next month, colorful cigarette packaging will be replaced by logo-free, drab brown boxes as Thailand becomes the first country in Southeast Asia to implement standardized packaging to discourage smoking.
In addition to graphic health warnings covering 85 percent of the front and back of the box, the new “plain packaging ” requirements mean brand names must be printed in a standardized typeface, size, color and location. No other colors or logos will be allowed.
The new regulations were adopted two years ago in the revised Tobacco Control Act but won’t come into effect until Sept. 10, with a 90-day grace period for old stock to phase out.
“We congratulate the Thai government for this important public health milestone and urge the Ministry of Public Health to strictly monitor compliance and impose penalties on tobacco companies that do not abide by the new law,” said Ulysses Dorotheo, executive director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, in a statement.
Vendors that fail to comply with the packaging regulations face fines of up to THB50,000 (US$1,630.)
Standardized packaging is intended to reduce the attractiveness and appeal of tobacco products to consumers as many tobacco companies rely heavily on the design of their products as a form of marketing. The new regulations will also increase the visibility of the health warnings.
In the last year, Thailand has implemented several measures to discourage smoking. Another new law that came into effect this month now considers smoking at home to be domestic violence if someone is adversely affected, because it harms the health of those living under the same roof. The new law enables family members to file legal complaints against the offending smoker.
Smoking at home becomes domestic violence Tuesday in Thailand
In February, another regulation prohibited smoking both inside and outside of the six airports under the jurisdiction of the Airports of Thailand Public Co. Ltd.: Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang in Bangkok, Phuket International Airport, Chiang Mai International Airport, Hat Yai International Airport and Mae Fah Luang–Chiang Rai International Airport.
Thailand is not the only Asian nation working towards curbing smoking. In July of next year, Singapore will be the second country in the region to implement the packaging regulations.
“Implementing this life-saving measure contained in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Singapore and Thailand have blazed a path that neighboring ASEAN countries must follow,” Dorotheo said.
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