W

arn about the dangers

of tobacco
State of Public Knowledge Regarding
Tobacco and its Dangers
Causes and Contributing Factors
Tobacco Industry
Government
The Philippine Experience

Effective Countermeasures
 Most people today:

still do not know,

know very little or
have the wrong
impressions

regarding tobacco and the many dangers it brings to

those who use it or are exposed to its poisonous fumes.
 People do not know

In China, a 1996 survey showed that 61% of the smokers

interviewed thought that tobacco did them “little or no harm”
 People know very little

A recent survey by the Philippine College of Chest Physicians

showed that over 90% of Filipinos’ awareness as to the extent of
dangers of smoking is primarily limited to what the cigarette
packages say: Cigarette is dangerous to your health.
In the Philippines, a survey conducted in 25 influential cities showed
that the perceived effects of smoking to health were limited to lung
diseases like lung cancer.
People have the wrong impression

A recent study found that more than 70% of smokers reported that
packages with words such as smooth and silver would have lower
health risks than regular and full flavor brands.
 Causes and
Contributing Factors

the tobacco industry the government

and its tactics and its measures and
regulations
 tobacco industry
It has been said that the industry primarily
relies on two things for its business…

A state of ignorance and a misinformed

public is attained and maintained by the
industry in two ways…

addiction misinformation
By controlling By employing
information aggressive marketing
strategies
 By controlling information

Through the years, control of information

regarding the harms of tobacco has been done by
withholding them from the public.

The tobacco industry has been consistent in

denying the truth of these information despite
knowledge of the same.
Marketing Ploys
 Governments, on the other hand, have not been
unified in their approach towards the problem.

Some governments have done nothing at all.

government
Some governments have allowed the tobacco
industry’s proposal to regulate itself.

Some governments have passed regulatory laws, but

allowed the industry to take part in drafting them, as
well as in implementing the said laws.
Some governments have passed strict and effective
laws.
The Philippine
Experience
Enactment of the
Consumer Act of 1992
(RA 7394)
Art. 94
• “Warning: Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to Your Health”
• in a conspicuous place on every cigarette package
• in conspicuous and legible type in contrast by typography,
layout or color with other printed matter on the package
• any advertisement of cigarette shall contain the same warning
 Issuance of
Department of Health
Administrative Orders

Administrative Order No. 10 s. 1993

Rules and Regulations on Labeling and Advertisement of Cigarettes
Sec. 5
• "SECRETARY OF HEALTH'S WARNING: CIGARETTE SMOKING IS DANGEROUS TO HEALTH”
• lower portion of the front and back of the principal display panel.
• warning statement: black color; in type-size letters; bold Helvetica; not less than 3mm
on the standard size cigarette packs (about 10 cm in length), and shall be enclosed by
an outlined box of the same black color on a rectangular white background not less
than 25% of the area of the front and back principal display panels.
• Filipino equivalent may be used: "BABALA NG KALIHIM NG KALUSUGAN: ANG
PANINIGARILYO AY MAPANGANIB SA KALUSUGAN.”
• “Package" includes: (1) cigarette pack; (2) the carton containing the packs; (3) the
boxes containing the cartons; and (4) equivalent containers for cigars.
• Prototype labels to be submitted to BFAD for approval prior to final printing.

Administrative Order No. 56 s. 2001

Guideline on Labeling and Advertisement of Cigarettes, and Designating the
Bureau of Food Drugs as its Regulating Agency
• "WARNING: CIGARETTE SMOKING IS DANGEROUS TO HEALTH”
Enactment of the
Tobacco Regulation Act
(RA 9211)
SEC. 13
• in English or Filipino
• on a rotating basis o separately and simultaneously, the following health warnings:
"GOVERNMENT WARNING: Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to Your Health”
"GOVERNMENT WARNING: Cigarette are Addictive";
"GOVERNMENT WARNING: Tobacco can Harm Your Children"; or
"GOVERNMENT WARNING: Smoking Kills."
• on the bottom portion of one (1) front panel of every tobacco product package
• occupy not less than thirty percent (30%) of panel including any border or frame.
• text shall appear in clearly legible type in black text on a white background with a black
border and in contrasts by typography, layout or color to the other printer materials on the
package.
• shall occupy a total area of less than fifty percent (50%) of the total warning frame.
• rotated periodically, or separately and simultaneously printed, so that within any 24 month
period, the 4 variations of the warnings shall appear with proportionate frequency.
• shall not be hidden or obscured by other printed information or images, or printed in a
location where tax or fiscal stamps are likely to be applied to the package or placed in a
location where it will be damaged when the package is opened.
• If the warning is likely to be obscured or obliterated by a wrapper on the package, the
warning must be printed on both the wrapper and the package.
• on one side panel, in a clear, legible and conspicuous manner; "NO SALE TO MINORS" or
"NOT FOR SALE TO MINORS;" not less than 10% of side panel; shall appear in contrast by
color, typography or layout with all the other printed material on the side panel.
• No other printed warnings shall be placed on cigarette packages.
 Ratification of the
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
(FCTC)
Article 11. Packaging and labelling of tobacco products
• Compliance period: within 3yrs after entry into force of Convention
• Party must adopt and implement effective measures to ensure that:
(a) tobacco product packaging and labelling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are
false, misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics,
health effects, hazards or emissions, including any term, descriptor, trademark, figurative or any other
sign that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that a particular tobacco product is less
harmful than other tobacco products. These may include terms such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light”,
or “mild”; and
(b) each unit packet and package of tobacco products and any outside packaging and labelling of such
products also carry health warnings describing the harmful effects of tobacco use, and may include
other appropriate messages. These warnings and messages:
(i) shall be approved by the competent national authority,
(ii) shall be rotating,
(iii) shall be large, clear, visible and legible,
(iv) should be 50% or more of the principal display areas but shall be no less than 30% of the
principal display areas,
(v) may be in the form of or include pictures or pictograms.
• Each package of tobacco products and any outside packaging and labelling of such products shall contain
info on relevant constituents and emissions of tobacco products as defined by national authorities.
• Party shall require that the warnings and other textual info will appear on each package of tobacco products
• any outside packaging and labelling of such products in its principal language or languages.
• “outside packaging and labelling” = any packaging and labelling used in the retail sale of tobacco products.
Unfortunately, only the provisions under RA
9211 were ever implemented.

To make it worse, text-based health warnings

like those required by RA 9211 have long been
proven to be ineffective. They do not serve the
purpose for which they were intended.
This results to a…

Among adults 15
years or older,
28.3% are current
tobacco smokers,
representing 17.3M
Filipinos, and
22.5% or approx.
13.8 M Filipinos
smoke everyday.
GATS, 2009
HIGH SMOKING RATE
A high smoking
incidence, in
turn, results to
a…

HIGH MORTALITY RATE DUE TO SMOKING

240 Filipinos in a day
10 Filipinos in an hour
1 Filipino every 6 minutes
Lack of Information or
High Smoking Rate
Misinformation

High Mortality Rate

Solution? due to Tobacco-
related Diseases
 As in most cases, the solution to the problem
here is found in the problem itself…

INFORMATION
that educates that warns
 Recommended
COUNTERMEASURES
Direct Education of the General Public

Conduct signature
campaigns .

Develop educational and

instructional materials
regarding the dangers of
tobacco use and exposure.

Organize and give out

workshops and training
seminars.
Require Effective
Package Health Warnings
Why go graphic?
 Reasonable
 Reach
 Response
 Recall
 Rated effective
 Picture-based Health Warning

covers 60% of both front

and back panels

contains graphics or
pictures

accompanied by
explanatory/descriptive
text

no misleading
descriptors
Australia Brazil Thailand

Canada UK
DOH Administrative Order
No. 2010-0013
REOUIRING GRAPHIC HEALTH INFORMATION ON
TOBACCO PRODUCT PACKAGES, ADOPTING
MEASURES TO ENSURE THAT TOBACCO PRODUCT
PACKAGING AND LABELLING DO NOT PROMOTE
TOBACCO BY ANY MEANS THAT ARE FALSE,
MISLEADING, DECEPTIVE OR LIKELY TO CREATE
AN ERRONEOUS IMPRESSION AND MATTERS
RELATED THERETO

12 May 2010
 Local Research ( PCCP)
Over 90% of 1000 respondents

Have not noticed the other text warnings

except “Smoking is Dangerous to your health”
 RA 10643
GRAPHIC HEALTH WARNING
• /AnAct to effectively instill health
consciousness through Graphic
Health Warning on tobacco
products, “otherwise known as
“The GHWs Law”
Public Health
Conduct Counter-advertising Measures
In other forms of
mass media

On Print

On TV
 end

thank you