Philippines: Anti-smoking advocates see higher sin tax as key vs TB
23 March 2019 Sun Star ANTI-SMOKING advocates renewed on Friday, March 22, their call for higher tax rates for cigarettes saying it would be beneficial
Philippines: Realizing universal health care through sin taxes
17 March 2019 Joshua Uyheng As May elections draw near, legislators are faced with the daunting task of reflecting upon — and marketing — their
Philippines: Bataan Cong Garcia lauds Pilar LGU for smoke-free feat
11 March 2019 Politiko Central Luzon: Bataan 2nd District Representative Jose Enrique “Joet” Garcia III hailed Sunday the local government of Pilar, Bataan and its
Philippines: Bataan solon wants ban on e-cigarettes until these are cleared to be safe
11 March 2019 Charissa Luci-Atienza Manila Bulletin: Bataan Rep. Jose Enrique Garcia III wants to restrict the importation, manufacture, use, sale, distribution and advertisement of
Indonesia: Big tobacco seeks to entice women: Report
11 March 2019 Dian Septiari JakartaPost: The tobacco industry is trying to ride the wave of women’s empowerment that is celebrated globally every March, as
Thailand: Police raid hookah, e-cig sellers
4 March 2019 Wassayos Ngamkham Bangkok Post: Police arrested 23 people and seized 2,856 hookahs, e-cigarettes and vaping solution, worth more than 900,000 baht, in
Myanmar: Women warned against falling for big tobacco’s hype
8 March 2019 John Grafilo Myanmar Times: A regional anti-tobacco organisation on Thursday warned women against falling for a campaign by tobacco companies to lure women
Philippines: Pimentel files bill seeking to require cigarette manufacturers to use plain packaging
5 March 2019 Vanne Elaine Terrazola Manila Bulletin: Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is seeking to simplify the packaging for all cigarettes and other tobacco
Cambodia: Smoke-free honour for Angkor Wat
1 March 2019 Pech Sotheary Khmer Times: The Apsara Authority has received the Smoke-free Heritage Award from the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance and World
Philippines: DOH: Tobacco tax hike bill to help fund universal healthcare law
1 March 2019 Christia Marie Ramos Inquirer: MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) renewed its call for the passage of a bill that
Philippines: Majority of Filipinos support stricter tobacco control laws – Pulse Asia
28 February 2019 Sofia Tomacruz Rappler: Survey results show 9 out of 10 Filipinos support increasing the minimum age for the purchase of cigarettes from
Philippines: 9 out of 10 Filipinos agree to prohibit smoking in public places
2019 poll candidates challenged to support stricter tobacco control legislation Nine out of 10 adult Filipinos agree that smoking or the use of cigarettes in
Siem Reap intensifies smoke-free campaign
27 February: SEATCA’s Smoke-free Program Manager Dr. Domilyn Villarreiz was one of the main resource speakers in the workshop to advance the campaign to make
Regional alliance welcomes decision to kick smoking out of Thailand’s airport terminals
19 February 2019 The Thaiger The Nation: The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) on Tuesday said it strongly supported Thailand’s move to ban smoking
Thai airports remove smoking areas
13 February 2019 The Nation: The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) strongly supports Thailand’s move to ban smoking inside the passenger buildings in all
Myanmar holds workshop to strengthen TAPS ban and PHW law
Yangon, 25-26 February 2018: The People’s Health Foundation (PHF) under the leadership of Dr. Than Sein organized a two-day meeting in Yangon to strengthen its tobacco
Philippines: Higher cigarette tax will help 3.2M Filipinos quit smoking – DOF
25 February 2019 Ben O, de Vera The Inquirer: Further jacking up the excise tax on cigarettes to P60 a pack, as proposed under a
Philippines: Increase tobacco tax now
19 February 2019 Gundo Weiler The Inquirer: The country’s legislators face a unique opportunity to save lives and protect the health of millions of Filipinos
Philippines: Baguio smoke-free TF, execs destroy P150-K seized cigarettes
18 February 2019 Pamela Mariz Geminiano Philippines News Agency: BAGUIO CITY–The Baguio smoke-free task force and city officials destroyed some PHP150,000 worth of cigarettes confiscated
Commentary: Shady tactics in influencer campaigns make social media the new frontier for stubbing out smoking
12 February 2019 Lim Sun Sun Channel NewAsia: The use of global social media campaigns by multinational tobacco companies to glamourise smoking is what authorities
Singapore: Parliament- Cigarettes packs to be sold in standardised plain packaging
11 February 2019 Rei Kurohi The Straits Times: SINGAPORE – Cigarette packs sold here will soon have standardised plain packaging with larger health warnings, after
Singapore: Bill to enforce plain packaging for tobacco products passed in Parliament
11 February 2019 Jalelah Abu Baker and Lianne Chia Channel NewsAsia: SINGAPORE: New restrictions on cigarette packaging will be introduced in Singapore, after amendments to the Tobacco (Control
Bangkok: Six airports declared no-smoking zones from Feb 3
3 February 2019 Online Reporter The Bangkok Post: Smoking will not be allowed inside the passenger buildings at all six airports operated by Airports of
Philippines: Deaths due to smoking could be averted with tobacco taxation
29 January 2019 Filane Mikee Cervantes Philippines News Agency: MANILA — An estimated 713,000 smoking attributable deaths could be averted by a measure seeking to increase
Philippines: Senate tackles bill seeking to raise excise on cigarettes
28 January 2019 Mario Casayuran Manila Bulletin: The Senate ways and means committee starts Tuesday its public hearing on bills seeking to raise the excise
Myanmar evaluates smoke-free implementation
29-30 January 2019: The Myanmar Ministry of Health, People’s Health Foundation under the leadership of Dr. Than Sein and SEATCA organized a two-day meeting in Mandalay
Malaysia: Survey shows seven out 10 shops get incentives from tobacco groups
26 January 2019 Ida Nadirah Ibrahim Malay Mail: KUALA LUMPUR, Roughly seven out of 10 retailers are participants of incentive programmes offered by tobacco companies
Malaysia: 70% retailers accepted incentives by tobacco companies to display cigarette packs prominently
25 January 2019 Clarissa Chung The Star Online: KUALA LUMPUR: A study showed that about 70% of retailers accepted incentives such as cash and shopping
How diplomatic missions became entangled with the tobacco industry
24 January 2019 Jessica Glenza The Guardian: Mary Assunta: ‘Ideas jumped into tobacco control only recently and was making policy statements that echoed the tobacco
How tobacco industry donations cloud debates over cigarette controls
23 January 2019 Jessica Glenza The Guardian Free-market thinktanks from Malaysia to Chile and Australia received funding from the industry alongside governments as they argued
Philippines: Senators told: No tobacco tax, no vote
20 January 2019 Jovic Yee Inquirer At least 30 medical associations warned they would campaign against the reelection bids of senators who would block or
Malaysia: Penang to be smoke-free in 5 years: Health committee chairman
18 January 2019 Channel News Asia BUTTERWORTH: Penang plans to gazette the entire state as a smoke-free area in the next five years, health official
Philippines: Vape not a good alternative to cigarettes, DOH warns
17 January 2019 CNN Philippines Staff CNN Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 16) — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday renewed its warning against the
Malaysia: Pelita to stub out cigarette sales at all outlets by year’s end
8 January 2019 Kenneth Lee Malaymail PETALING JAYA, Jan 8 — Pelita Samudra Pertama (M) Sdn Bhd (Pelita) plans to stop selling cigarettes at its
Malaysia: Fines for 648 smokers in Penang last year, says state exco
7 January 2019 Opalyn Mok Malay Mail GEORGE TOWN, Jan 7 – Health enforcers caught 648 people lighting up in non-smoking zones last year and
Malaysia: ‘Hazardous’ air no more
6 January 2019 News Straits Times ASTUDY by a team of researchers has shown that in areas where the smoking ban was enforced, such as
Southeast Asian smokers face a cloud of new antismoking measures
5 January 2019 MASAYUKI YUDA, CLIFF VENZON and JUSTINA LEE, Nikkei staff writers Asian Nikkei Governments hike tobacco taxes to mitigate health threats and fund
Malaysia gets tough on smokers
5 January 2019 Jason Thomas The ASEAN Post Malaysia has become the latest ASEAN member state to establish more smoke-free zones; rolling out a divisive
Malaysia: RM500 fine for first-time no-smoking offenders
4 January 2019 The Star CAMERON HIGHLANDS (Bernama): A RM500 fine will be imposed on first-time offenders who flout the no-smoking rule at food premises.
Philippines: Health advocates’ New Year wish: Higher tobacco tax
1 January 2019 Marlon Ramos Inquirer For the past 16 years, Emer Rojas, an engineer, has been the local poster boy of the ill effects
Philippines: Cigarette price at P20 per stick can stop youth from smoking
12 December 2018 Ma. Teresa Montemayor Philippines News Agency MANILA — Studies show that smoking or tobacco use remains to be the biggest preventable cause of
Philippines: Boxing icon Pacquiao is determined to push bill doubling tobacco tax rate
11 December 2018 EDD K. USMAN Scitech and Digital APPARENTLY, Senate Bill 1599 is not moving as its author wants. But the author, world boxing
Philippines: Tobacco tax hike to help fund health care law: Sen. Ejercito
29 November 2018 ABS-CNB MANILA — Higher excise taxes on tobacco products will help fund the Universal Health Care Law, a senator who sought to
Indonesia: Regional meeting seeks to promote smoke-free tourism
21 November 2018 Jakarta Post The sixth regional meeting of Smoke-Free Cities in the Asia-Pacific region was held in Hoi An, Vietnam, on Nov. 20
ASEAN cities seek to promote smoke-free tourism environments
20 November 2018 Vietnam Plus Quang Nam (VNA) – The Smoke-free Cities ASEAN Network (SCAN) convened the 6th regional meeting in Hoi An city, the central
Malaysia: Penang gains international recognition for its smoke-free campaign
20 November 2018 Opalyn Mok Malay Mail GEORGE TOWN, Nov 20 — The Penang government has been recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and
Vietnam: Hoi An works toward becoming smoke-free city
20 November 2018 Ha Linh The Saigon Times DANANG – Millions of leaflets with the slogan, “Say no to tobacco,” in three languages—Vietnamese, English and
Cambodia: Siem Reap City administration workplace now smoke-free
6 November 2018: Mayor So Platong of Siem Reap City declared the administration workplace and its compound smoke-free. SEATCA’s Smoke-free Program Manager, Dr. Domilyn Villarreiz graced
Myanmar: Shan caves awarded as smoke-free heritage site
26 November 2018 Aung Phay Kyi Soe MyanmarTimes The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance has honoured Pindaya Caves in Shan State with an award for promoting
Thailand: Thailand First Asian Nation to Join Global Efforts to Control Tobacco
20 November 2018 Wendell C Balderas Inter Press Service BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 20 2018 (IPS) – Thailand is set to become the first Asian country to