SEATCA Press Release

1 July 2016, Manila – The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) today welcomed the Philippine Department of Education’s (DepEd) directive, released 28 June, protecting school children from the harms of tobacco use and the snares of the tobacco industry. Department Order 48 s2016: Policy and Guidelines on Comprehensive Tobacco Controlprescribes rules on how parents, …

DepEd Philippines applauded in ​p​rotecting school children from tobacco Read More »

May 21, 2016 Health groups warn: Upcoming Jakarta tax forum backed by the tobacco industry Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), HealthJustice Philippines (HJ) and New Vois Association Philippines (NVAP) alerted the public today of the ties that bind the tobacco industry and the International Tax and Investment Centre (ITIC), which is behind the 13th Annual Asia-Pacific Tax Forum on …

SEATCA joint press statement with HealthJustice Philippines and New Vois Association of the Philippines on stopping ITIC’s Tax Forum in Jakarta, Indonesia! Read More »

Bangkok, 4 March 2016: The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance lauds Myanmar’s Ministry of Health’s (MOH) new regulation to implement 75% pictorial or graphic health warnings (GHW) on tobacco packaging that visually depict the health harms of tobacco use. “Implementing graphic health warnings in Myanmar is another excellent step to protect public health as more …

Large, hard-hitting, graphic warnings to appear on tobacco packs in Myanmar Read More »

Jakarta, 23 February 2016: Reducing tobacco use through effective tobacco taxation is critical to reducing poverty and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Tobacco use obstructs development and worsens poverty, yet tobacco consumption is increasing in Indonesia and has reached alarming proportions. Two out of every three Indonesian men are smokers. According to national surveys, smoking prevalence …

Indonesian gov’t urged to prioritize health through effective tobacco taxation Read More »

Bangkok, 12 February 2016: The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) applauds Thailand on increasing excise tax on tobacco products, making domestic packs of 20 cigarettes 5-10 baht more expensive. Thailand’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) successfully obtained the Cabinet’s approval to increase excise tax on tobacco products on 10 February 2016. MOF expects the excise …

Applaud Thailand for hiking tobacco excise tax, a win for public health Read More »

  Malacca, Malaysia – 4 December 2015: Twelve Heritage Sites and cities joined hands to step up their initiatives to become smoke free to protect both public health and historical buildings. The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) and the Malaysian Health Promotion Board (MySihat) in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in …

World heritage sites in Asia go smoke-free Read More »

Bangkok, 27 October 2015: ASEAN governments should be wary of the recommendations in the ASEAN Excise Tax Reform: A Resource Manual released by the International Trade and Investment Centre (ITIC). The Manual is a tool for promoting vested interests rather than a tool designed to help governments. The Bangkok-based Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) warned legislators and …

ITIC’s Excise Tax Manual Undermines Best Practice in Tobacco Taxation Read More »

Bangkok, 6 October 2015: For the first time in the history of multilateral trade and investment negotiations, tobacco has been singled out in a free trade agreement by excluding tobacco companies from using the investor state dispute settlement mechanisms (ISDS) of the 21st century trade agreement.  Negotiations among 12 countries on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement concluded …

Giant leap for tobacco control in TPP but countries must remain vigilant Read More »

Bangkok, 2 October 2015: Malaysia must stand firm in their position on a total carve-out of tobacco control measures in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. The latest proposal from the US Trade Representative does not go far enough to cover all the threats the tobacco industry poses to governments when they enact tobacco control measures. …

Call to Malaysian Government – Stand Firm in Position for Total Carve-out of Tobacco Control Measures in TPP Read More »