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SINGAPORE: New restrictions on cigarette packaging will be introduced in Singapore after amendments to the Tobacco (Advertising and Marketing Control) Bill are pbaded in Parliament on Monday, 11 February.
All tobacco products must be sold in neutral packaging – in a standardized color and all logos, branding and promotional information removed.
Brand and product names will be allowed, but only in a standard font color and style.
Graphic health warnings should also be at least 25% larger than existing ones.
The State Health Minister, Edwin Tong, has moved that the bill be read for second reading. More needs to be done to reduce tobacco use here.
He noted that in Singapore, one in five men smoke daily and that the rate of male smoking is higher than in Australia, the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
More than 2,000 Singaporeans die prematurely from smoking-related diseases each year, he said.
READ: The legal minimum age for smoking is 19 January 1
Although the smoking rate has been reduced in the past with measures such as the ban on smoking in some public places, the limitation of tobacco advertising and the imposition of taxes, the decline has been more difficult to maintain in recent years, said Tong.
"Smoking rates have fluctuated between 12% and 14% over the past 10 years, with no clear downward trend," he added.
"It is clear that we need to do more to combat tobacco use among Singaporeans in order to denormalize smoking and reduce smoking rates to as low a level as possible."
The amendments to the bill stem from the ban on tobacco product displays at sales outlets effective August 2017, as well as legislative changes to increase the minimum legal age for the purchase of tobacco products. purchase, use, possession, sale and supply. tobacco products.
The Ministry of Health will inform industry stakeholders of the proposed specifications for standardized tobacco packaging and discuss with them issues of operational implementation, Tong said.
As with other changes to tobacco products, nine to twelve months' notice is likely, he added.
THE CALL OF THE BRAND PACKAGING
Explaining the focus on packaging, Tong said that cigarette packs were a "five-second commercial".
"The evidence suggests that the attractiveness of branded packaging is also one of the factors encouraging children and young adults to experiment with smoking and to adopt and continue to smoke," he said. .
A study by the Health Promotion Council (HPB) to badess Singaporeans' perceptions of current and more ordinary cigarette packaging seems to corroborate this evidence.
The study found that attractive packaging was badociated with high quality cigarettes and an increased likelihood of encouraging young people to try such products, said Tong, adding that among the "significant minority "Of non-smokers, the perceived appeal of packaging was badociated with the intention of trying to smoke.
HPB findings from other local studies also indicated that Singaporeans considered darker packets with health warnings containing at least 75% of surfaces less attractive. They were also perceived to be more harmful to health.
READ: Singapore to introduce plain packaging and wider graphic warnings for all tobacco products
COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS, "INSIDER" ADVERTISING BETWEEN CONCERNS RAISED BY PARLIAMENTARIANS
MPs who spoke on the bill generally supported the amendments, but expressed some concerns.
The chairman of the government's parliamentary committee for health, Chia Shi-Lu, asked if standardized packaging would lead to an increase in counterfeit tobacco products. He also asked if this would lead to "trading", which describes a phenomenon in which we move from more expensive tobacco brands to cheaper alternatives in a market.
On the issue of advertising, the MP named Lim Sun Sun highlighted the use of what she described as "insidious campaigns on social networks" led by tobacco multinationals, which circumvent the restrictions imposed on tobacco advertising. Such campaigns, she explained, capitalize on the attractiveness of social media influencers through photographs showing influencers who smoke in cool places while wearing trendy clothes, along with catchy hashtags .
Influencers are given strict instructions on which cigarettes to use, how to take natural, non-advertising photos, when to post these images to maximize public engagement, and the hashtags they should use, she said. In one country, influencers were even asked to hide the health warnings on cigarette packs before publishing the images.
"Such shady tactics are designed to mislead young people into thinking that these images are organic social media content that simply reflects the culture of youth," she said.
Professor Lim asked if further efforts would be made to track the use of social media by tobacco and electronic cigarette manufacturers. She also asked whether the Ministry would work with the Advertising Standards Authority in Singapore to develop more concrete guidelines on the responsibilities of social media influencers for full disclosure in the case of content sponsored by tobacco and cigarette companies. e.
MP Gan Thiam Poh also raised the issue of advertising. He asked whether the Ministry of Health would consider obliging the media to broadcast reminders of the harmful effects of tobacco during all video, film or theater screenings when smoking scenes can not be used. to be mounted. Cut.
DECISION INTRODUCING CHANGES "NOT TAKEN SLIGHTLY"
Responding to concerns voiced by MPs in his summary of the bill, Mr. Tong said that the Ministry of Health felt that it was unlikely that the introduction of standardized packaging would contribute in any way. significant increase in the illicit trade in tobacco products in Singapore.
"We reached this point of view after carefully considering the arguments and evidence presented by the tobacco industry on illegal trade at the public consultation," he said. Mr. Tong added that the local context was also important, as the form of illegal tobacco in Singapore is that of genuine but unpaid cigarettes as opposed to counterfeit cigarettes.
6,000 cartons of unpaid cigarettes were found in a removal engine on Friday, May 18 at the Tuas checkpoint. (Photo: ICA)
"Because of the relatively small cigarette market in Singapore, manufacturers of counterfeit cigarettes have no incentive to sell counterfeit cigarettes in Singapore," he said.
Tong added that the contribution of standard packaging to downstream trading would probably be modest. Any impact that downward operations may have on the increase in aggregate demand can also be mitigated by measures to increase the absolute price of low-cost brands, for example by raising tobacco taxes.
With regard to advertising, Mr. Tong stated that Professor Lim had raised valid points regarding the evolution of the proliferation of social media. He noted that, in the current state of affairs, tobacco-related commercials in all forms of media were already banned, but acknowledged that the large number of different influencers and the neat image representation could make detection and enforcement much more difficult.
READ: Prohibition of display of tobacco products as of August 1, end of grace period
He added that HPB is also running a "very broad" public education campaign, also online and on social media.
"So, besides respecting the rules in force, we also want to broaden public awareness on the same platform, with the same scope and, hopefully, the same target audience that what these tobacco companies are trying to do ", he said.
With respect to the broadcast media, he stated that there are content guidelines that allow broadcasters to exercise due diligence in the depiction of smoking on television, in movies and on television. from other media channels.
Nevertheless, he added that his department would study the suggestion of posting anti-tobacco messages or advertisements before the screening of films containing tobacco images.
To conclude, Mr. Tong said that the decision to introduce standardized packaging and expand the size of the health warning was not taken lightly.
"We have taken due account of the main available evidence, consulted experts in different fields and solicited public opinion on several occasions," he said, adding that his ministry recognized the impact of the changes. on tobacco and related industries. measures to mitigate this impact.
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