SEATCA Press Release

Bangkok, June 29:  United with public health advocates and health experts in the Philippines, the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) reiterates its call for President Rodrigo Duterte to protect the Filipino youth and veto the consolidated House Bill No. 9007 / Senate Bill No. 2239 also known as the Vape Bill. Philippine laws already …

Filipinos urge President Duterte to veto the Vape Bill Read More »

Media release for World Environment Day, 5 June 2022 Bangkok, 4 June 2022 – Tobacco claims 8 million lives globally and trashes the environment in the process. Over 6.25 trillion cigarettes are smoked worldwide every year, including 531 billion sticks in the ASEAN region, most of which are discarded into the environment. This is in …

Tobacco industry trashes the planet while it profits and greenwashes Read More »

Bangkok, 13 June 2022 – The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) welcomed the Philippine Supreme Court’s decision upholding the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health (DOH) to regulate all products affecting health, including tobacco products. This decision is significant as it quashes a legal challenge by the …

Philippines’ Supreme Court decision upholding FDA authority over tobacco products quashes industry attempt to escape health authorities Read More »

12 April 2022, Bangkok: As per its Ministry of Health directive issued last 12 October 2021, Myanmar was set to implement standardized tobacco packaging after 180 days or by 10 April 2022, followed by a 90-day phaseout of old tobacco packaging. However, transnational, and local cigarette and cheroot producers successfully lobbied for the implementation deadline …

Myanmar government bows to industry pressure, delays implementation of standardized tobacco packaging by 12 months Read More »

Press Statement by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) 23 February 2022, Bangkok: Tobacco kills 500,000 people each year in the ASEAN alone, and governments need to urgently accelerate their tobacco control efforts, especially in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, says the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. According to the 2021 FCTC …

PASS or FAIL: ASEAN countries called to step up protection of public health  Read More »

(Bangkok, December 14, 2021): Doctors and health groups in the Philippines decried the Philippine Senate’s approval of Senate Bill 2239 (Vape Bill) on third and final reading despite firm and repeated protests from the health sector and public interest lawyers and youth groups. Existing laws (Republic Act (RA) 11346 and RA 11467) to regulate electronic …

Philippine youth in danger as Senate rolls back minimum age on electronic smoking devices Read More »

Bangkok, December 1, 2021: The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop the tobacco industry from interfering in government efforts to protect public health. No country was spared from the meddling; yet tools available to governments to protect their health policies remain largely underutilized. These are the main findings of the latest Asian Tobacco Industry Interference Index …

Tobacco industry meddling in Asia’s efforts to protect health during COVID-19 pandemic Read More »