Thailand, a good student in Southeast Asia in terms of banning tobacco advertising

The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) has released an index that provides the status of implementation of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship bans in 10 Southeast Asian countries.[1]-[2]. Only Thailand has a complete ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, while Brunei and Singapore have instituted near-complete bans. Indonesia, which has not ratified the WHO Framework Convention, lags far behind in banning advertising and remains a playground for the tobacco industry.

The index is built on baseline data provided by SEATCA national partners and monitoring of tobacco industry activities on the ground in 2021. Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and its implementing guidelines adopted in 2008 confirm that a complete ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship is an essential measure to reduce tobacco use.

The results highlight the disparities between countries in the region, with leading countries such as Thailand and Singapore having implemented comprehensive and effective bans on tobacco advertising, as set out in Article 13 of the FCTC. These countries have also seen a decline in their smoking prevalence in recent years. Other countries, parties to the FCTC, are in an intermediate situation due to often partial bans and a more or less strong influence of the tobacco industry, and are called upon by the authors of the study to complete and strengthen their system to comply with the FCTC.

The special case of Indonesia

Although the tobacco industry interferes in public policy in almost every country in Southeast Asia, the level of tobacco industry interference in policymaking in Indonesia is the highest in the region.

The country is currently the only one in the region that has not ratified the Framework Convention due to the strong lobbying of the tobacco industry and is thus lagging far behind on the issue of advertising. For example, with the exception of Indonesia, all other countries in the ASEAN region have banned tobacco advertising in mass media, including print, television, radio and cinema, and a complete ban on outdoor tobacco advertising through billboards. Indonesian law still allows this type of advertising as well as advertising at points of sale, on the internet, and sponsorship of certain sporting or cultural events. Indonesia is also the country in the region with the largest CSR activities by the tobacco industry, with PMI spending over $26 million since 2017 on so-called CSR activities.

Advertising remains important at points of sale in Southeast Asia

While most ASEAN countries have introduced restrictions on direct advertising or point-of-sale promotions, in line with Article 13 of the FCTC, Indonesia and the Philippines lag behind and still allow tobacco companies to advertise their products at points of sale. In the Philippines, the law allows the promotion of tobacco products, including the distribution of free samples of tobacco products, if they are not directed to persons under 18 years of age. The FCTC treaty requires a complete ban, so existing laws that do not include the point of sale within the scope of the ban on tobacco advertising are not compliant.

This point-of-sale advertising can take various forms. For example, in Cambodia, retailers can display the logo or name of tobacco products at points of sale and show a pack of cigarettes of each brand sold. These partial restrictions allow tobacco companies to maintain the visibility of their products and brands.

Thailand addressed this problem by completely banning the display of tobacco products at points of sale. This country was recently followed by Brunei and Singapore which introduced similar restrictions. In terms of packaging, all countries in the region have pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs but only Singapore and Thailand have introduced plain packaging. The report calls on all FCTC Parties to implement plain packaging to reduce the attractiveness of the product.

Tobacco industry continues to use CSR activities to exert influence in the region

In Southeast Asia, smoking rates are among the highest in the world with an average male smoking prevalence of 42.1%. The region is home to 122 million adult smokers and remains a lucrative market for tobacco companies. In several countries in the region, they are conducting intensive marketing and lobbying operations combined with corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in order to expand their business.

The industry uses CSR to restore its tarnished image in recent years and to try to maintain its legitimacy in public and commercial spheres. CSR contributions are also being developed when all other forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are banned. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the tobacco industry has stepped up its CSR activities in the ASEAN region, particularly in five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, which are important markets for the industry even though some of these countries (Malaysia and Thailand) have banned the tobacco industry’s CSR activities.

In 2020, PMI increased its advertising spend in the ASEAN region in the CSR communications category to approximately $22 million, more than double the amount spent in 2019.

PMI expenditure on CSR activities ($)

Keywords: Southeast Asia, ASEAN, CSR, marketing, advertising, tobacco, FCTC

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. (2022). SEATCA Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship Index: Implementation of Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in ASEAN Countries, 2022. Bangkok: Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance.

[2] Association of Southeast Asian Nations

[3] Corporate Social Responsibility