• March 19, 2024

Cigarette warnings ruling to be appealed by Thailand’s Public Health Ministry

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry is planning to file an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court so that its requirement for bigger graphic health warnings on cigarette packs can be imposed as planned, according to a story in The Nation.

The Administrative Court on Monday suspended the ministry’s plan under which tobacco companies would have had to have increased the size of the warnings on the front and back of packs from 55 percent to 85 percent.

“I will consult with legal experts to find out about the appeal procedure,” the ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr. Narong Sahametapat, was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nopporn Cheanklin, deputy director of the Disease Control Department, said the proposed regulation would not create any burden on the tobacco companies.

But it would prevent young people from becoming addicted to smoking, he added.

Dr. Hathai Chitanont, director of the Thailand Health Promotion Institute, said he backed the ministry’s attempt to control tobacco consumption and to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

He suggested that the ministry should collect evidence to prove that making the warning graphics bigger on cigarette packs would reduce the number of smokers and prevent nonsmokers from taking up the habit. However, he said he wasn’t aware of any research proving these assumptions.