10 September 2026; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The second ASEAN Smoke-free Awards (ASA) were presented today during the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM) in Kuala Lumpur, hosted and chaired by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. The initiative is led by the Government of Lao PDR under ASEAN Health Cluster 1, in cooperation with the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) and the ASEAN Secretariat.
The awards celebrate sub-national smoke-free policy achievements to protect public health and are aligned with the ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda and the 2017 ASEAN Declaration on Culture of Prevention.
Baguio City, Philippines, was honored with the Gold Award after a rigorous screening process. George Town in Penang, Malaysia earned Silver, and five local governments from Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Thailand received Bronze. Singapore received a Special Recognition certificate for its consistent and outstanding smoke-free enforcement.
“This year’s awardees demonstrate that strict and firmly enforced smoke-free policies are achievable and necessary if millions of lives are to be saved from the deadly tobacco epidemic,” said Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, Executive Director of SEATCA. “SEATCA will continue to work with these cities to build on their present achievements. We know other governments in Southeast Asia will draw inspiration from these achievements. Local governments are demonstrating that smoke-free environments can and must become the standard all over the region by firmly resisting challenges from the tobacco industry and by placing public health first.”
“We take pride in leading the ASEAN Smoke-Free Awards initiative under ASEAN Health Cluster 1 together with SEATCA and the ASEAN Secretariat,” stated the Ministry of Health Lao PDR. “This second edition shows our common regional commitment to turning the high-level commitments of ASEAN into real protections for our people. Lao PDR will continue to work together with all the Member States to promote healthier and smoke-free communities.”
Contact Information
Ms. Cyresse Ann Achilleos, Media and Communications Officer, SEATCA Email: cyresse@seatca.org
Mobile: +63 975 701 7130
About SEATCA
SEATCA is a multi-sectoral non-governmental alliance promoting health and saving lives by assisting ASEAN countries to accelerate and effectively implement the tobacco control measures contained in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). SEATCA is an accredited ASEAN entity and an official Observer to the WHO FCTC Conference of Parties. WHO bestowed on SEATCA the World No Tobacco Day Award in 2004 and the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Award in 2014. www.seatca.org