Regional Updates

Celebrating tobacco control champions in the Western Pacific Region

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22 May 2020 Dr Mom Kong, Cambodia Movement for Health, receives WHO Director-General Special Recognition Award Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes individuals or organizations from across the world for their accomplishments in tobacco control with WHO Director-General Special Recognition Awards and World No Tobacco Day Awards.  For World No Tobacco Day 2020, the honour goes to Dr Mom …

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Malaysia needs innovative fiscal measures for sustainable health financing

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15 May 2020 Yen Lian Tan, East Asia Forum Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for 73 per cent of total deaths in Malaysia in 2015, with half of these being due to cardiovascular diseases. This health burden is growing as the prevalence of NCD risk factors continue to rise among Malaysians. The now abolished Malaysian Health Promotion Board …

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Cambodia: More hotels and restaurants commit to being smoke-free

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15 April 2020 Twenty hotels and restaurants in Cambodia were recognized by the Ministry of Tourism Cambodia for complying with the Sub-decree on Smoke-free Workplaces and Public Places in tourism business and services.   The Sub-Decree on Smoke-free Workplaces and Public Places was issued by the Royal Government of Cambodia in March 2016, banning indoor smoking in all workplaces …

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Philippine towns ban smoking during COVID-19 pandemic

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Three towns in the Philippines have temporarily banned smoking, cigarettes and other tobacco products as part of efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.  General Luna, Quezon Province Mayor Matt Erwin Florido disallowed the sale and purchase of cigarettes in the town for the whole duration of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.  San Antonio, Nueva Ecija …

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Philippines: Dominguez: Liquor, cigarette restrictions to stay as health top priority amid pandemic

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27 April 2020 Ben O. de Vera, Inquirer MANILA, Philippines — The government will keep the restrictions on liquor sale as well as withdrawals of cigarettes from factories for the rest of the extended lockdown period, as keeping Filipinos away from these “sin” products would not only keep them healthy but also protect them from …

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Philippines: Duque tells smokers, vapers: Quit now, you’re at risk from Covid-19

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3 April 2020 Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Business Mirror HEALTH Secretary Francisco T. Duque III appealed to smokers and vapers to stop immediately for they may be at a higher risk for severe illness from Covid-19 Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has yet to establish with finality whether people who vape are at a higher risk, …

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Philippines: Quezon town temporarily bans cigarettes amid COVID-19 threat

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29 March 2020 Delfin T.Mallari Jr. Inquirer LUCENA CITY, Quezon – The mayor of General Luna town in Quezon has ordered a temporary ban on the sale and purchase of cigarettes starting Monday (March 30) as part of efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the province. In issuing Executive Order …

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Lao PDR: Moving towards a smoke-free Plain of Jars

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February 2020 SEATCA Lao PDR is moving forward with its smoke-free advocacy by meeting with the Departments of Health, Education and Sports, Security, Culture and Information, Tourism and Transport of Xiangkhouang Province to declare the new UNESCO World Heritage Site Plain of Jars smoke-free. The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Lao PDR. …

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