It just took one clause in Malaysia’s Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 (CTPR 2004) to start a nightmare for tobacco control advocacy.
That clause explicitly stated that restrictions on advertising “shall not apply to any tobacco product advertisement in or on a packing containing a tobacco product.”
Hence, although the regula- tions are quite comprehensive, the tobacco industry has since exploited this loophole by aggressively turning cigarette packs into an advertising medium.
Cigarette packs have been attractively and innovatively designed, with some (such as Peter Stuyvesant) having inserts with advertising messages printed thereon.
There is yet another set- back: Malaysia kept its text-only health warning (“Warning by the Malaysian Government: Smoking endangers health”) on the side panel of cigarette packs.
This gave free rein to the industry to use the front and back panels of each pack for advertising purposes.
Just as in most countries, the display of cigarette packs is permitted at points-of- purchase (POPs), and of course packs are arranged to be virtually impossible to miss.
One such strategic location is the retail counter before which every customer has to stand to pay for their purchases.
This also explains why multinational tobacco companies such as British American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International have been providing counters, display cabinets and shelves to POPs.
Wallet packs by Dunhill appeared on Malaysian POPs’ shelves in early 2006, about three years after it was first introduced to the global market. These consist of two small half-packs of cigarettes attached along one edge so that the pack can be flipped open like a wallet.
They are sold at certain petrol stations and convenience stores. Wallet packs provide a way to circumvent the reduced advertising space on the front and back panels of conventional cigarette packs when large health warnings (textual or pictorial) are introduced.
Manufacturers can have the inner surfaces of the packs for their advertising messages without running afoul of the law. Tobacco control advocates and policy makers have been too engrossed with getting health warnings printed on the external surfaces.
Wallet packs were subsequently introduced to a number of other countries, including Australia and Canada.
However, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission managed to obtain a temporary injunction against the wallet pack in the Federal Court of Australia some months later.
Another area of grave concern is the use of sleeves on cigarette packs. Over the past two years, it has become common to see cigarette packs in attractively designed sleeves.
Sleeves sometimes sport festive wishes or messages targeting specific cultures.
In 2006, Dunhill launched a twin -pack promotion with an acetate sleeve printed with Hari Raya greetings on one side and Happy Deepavali on the other.
It was a year in which the two festivals almost coincided. And Marlboro produced specially designed packaging and sleeves with the silhouette of a neighing horse, a symbol of strength and perseverance to the Chinese, for the Chinese New Year of 2007.
Apart from their promotional value, these sleeves can obscure or conceal health warnings printed on the packs; their designs lessen the seriousness and the impact of the health warning.
Hence, pack sleeves should be banned.
From packs to cartons
Just as indvidual packs are important promotional vehicles, displays of multiple packs or of entire cartons are often stacked at POPs to great effect – often turned to display the largest surface, printed with the cigarette brand name.
The best way to deal with this type of promotion is to ban cigarette displays entirely, as has been done in Thailand.
C.Y. Yong, Dr Foong Kin
and Y.L. Tan
Clearinghouse for Tobacco Control
(C-Tob)
National Poison Centre
Universiti Sains
Malaysia
Article initially published in the Alliance Bulletin #66 (p.4/5) (pdf link)
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