"We would like to see the passage of a national law in the Philippines that will not only set a minimum age for the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products, but will also regulate the tobacco industry," said PMPh managing director George Farah in a speech before a conference on corporate communications organized by the prestigious Malaysian-based Marcus Evans events company recently.
PMPh has submitted position papers on the various regulatory bills filed in Congress, the most comprehensive of which is Senate Bill 1859 of Sen. Juan Flavier.
The Flavier bill has already been passed on third and final reading while its counterpart in the House of Representatives – House Bill 114 authored by Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo II – has now been called by the House committee on trade and industry for public hearings.
Farah said that in the position papers, PMPh expressed support for the regulation to include the adoption of a minimum age law on the sale of cigarettes, a ban on tobacco product advertising in electronic media, and ban on smoking in public places like hospitals, schools and public transportation.
Farah also reiterated PMPh’s commitment to continue working with the government, civic and international organizations and the public health community to find effective solutions to complex tobacco issues in the country.
"Society is best served by a cooperative, constructive approach to tobacco, one that attempts to find a common ground among the various points of view," Farah said.
Philip Morris International (PMI) and its affiliates, which include PMPh, have embarked on more that 130 Youth Smoking Prevention (YSP) programs in almost 70 countries – often in partnership with government or community groups.
In the Philippines, PMPh has an ongoing values formation and education program in partnership with the University of Asia and the Pacific, a retail access prevention program, and soon a multi-media advertising campaign on YSP.