Successful countering of tobacco industry efforts to overturn Thailand's ENDS ban

Patanavanich, Roengrudee; Glantz, Stanton A.

doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056058

Cited by 20 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Mirroring these efforts in the 1980s and 1990s for cigarettes, as of 2021, TTCs were currently seeking to expand the market for e-cigarettes and HTPs through similar local pressure. 2 While health advocates and government authorities succeeded in resisting domestic pressure, they should anticipate that the TTCs will attempt to use international trade law to force markets open for new tobacco products. Promoting and prioritising health both domestically and internationally to non-health and international trade agencies is important as these agencies generally prioritise trade over health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…52–54 Since Thailand banned e-cigarettes and HTPs in 2015, TTCs (particularly PM) and pro-e-cigarette groups (particularly ENDS Cigarette Smoke Thailand) have been lobbying the government to lift the ban. 2 54 They are repeating past strategies to open the cigarette market for the new tobacco products. 2 Similar to earlier battles to open the cigarette market during the 1980s, non-health government agencies and ministries were sympathetic to overturning the ban on e-cigarettes and HTPs.…”

Section: Lessons For Tobacco Industry’s Efforts To Overturn Bans On Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“… 2 54 They are repeating past strategies to open the cigarette market for the new tobacco products. 2 Similar to earlier battles to open the cigarette market during the 1980s, non-health government agencies and ministries were sympathetic to overturning the ban on e-cigarettes and HTPs. PM Thailand’s managing director told the media in July 2019 that he had met with the Ministry of Commerce and the Excise Department and stated, ‘We will continue to present fact-based, non-ideological studies and results from other countries [about e-cigarettes and HTPs] with the government.…”

Section: Lessons For Tobacco Industry’s Efforts To Overturn Bans On Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The establishment of Foundation for a Smoke-Free World in 2017 by PMI initiated such international pressure, particularly fostering a strong connection between ENDS Cigarette Smoke Thailand and international vaping networks to intensify lobbying activities in Thailand. 2 PM also used decisions from US government’s Food and Drug Administration that allowed PM’s HTPs (IQOS) to sell and market as a ‘modified risk product’ in the US to promote the products in other countries. 55 …”

Section: Lessons For Tobacco Industry’s Efforts To Overturn Bans On Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“… 1 Philip Morris International (PMI) introduced its HTPs to Thailand in 2017, knowing the products were illegal under Thai law and worked in parallel with a pro-e-cigarette group (ENDS Cigarette Smoke Thailand) in efforts to force the Thai market to open to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), including HTP and e-cigarettes, products that heat a nicotine solution to generate an inhaled nicotine aerosol. 2 Efforts to introduce these currently illegal products into Thailand’s market is reminiscent of efforts in the 1980s to open the Thai market to international cigarettes. From 1939, when the Thai government created the Thai Tobacco Monopoly (TTM) under the Ministry of Finance Excise Department, 3 until 1990 when the US used trade sanctions under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to force open the Thai cigarette market, 4 Thailand was closed to legal sales by TTCs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How to combat efforts to overturn bans on electronic nicotine delivery systems: lessons from tobacco industry efforts during the 1980s to open closed cigarette markets in Thailand

Patanavanich

Glantz

2021

BMJ Glob Health

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Until 1990, it was illegal for transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) to sell cigarettes in Thailand. We reviewed and analysed internal tobacco industry documents relevant to the Thai market during the 1980s. TTCs’ attempts to access the Thai cigarette market during the 1980s concentrated on political lobbying, advertising and promotion of the foreign brands that were illegal to sell in Thailand at the time. They sought to take advantage of the Thai Tobacco Monopoly’s (TTM) inefficiency to propose licencing agreements and joint ventures with TTM and took advantages of unclear regulations about cigarette marketing to promote their products through advertising and sponsorship activities. After their initial efforts failed, they successfully lobbied the US to impose trade sanctions to liberalise Thailand’s market. Similar to the situation for cigarettes in the 1980s, since 2017, Philip Morris International has worked in parallel with a pro-e-cigarette group to pressure Thailand’s government to allow sales of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products), knowing the products were illegal under Thai law. Health advocates and government authorities should be aware of past TTCs’ tactics for cigarettes and anticipate that TTCs will attempt to use international trade law to force markets open for ENDS if their domestic efforts fail.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Lessons For Tobacco Industry’s Efforts To Overturn Bans On Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Lessons For Tobacco Industry’s Efforts To Overturn Bans On Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Lessons For Tobacco Industry’s Efforts To Overturn Bans On Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

How to combat efforts to overturn bans on electronic nicotine delivery systems: lessons from tobacco industry efforts during the 1980s to open closed cigarette markets in Thailand

Patanavanich

Glantz

2021

BMJ Glob Health

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Global survey of consumer organizations advocating for safer nicotine products

Jerzyński

Harding

Stimson

2023

Public Health Challenges

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Introduction The study investigated the role and activities of organizations that advocate for the adoption of and access to safer nicotine products (SNPs), such as nicotine vaping products (e‐cigarettes), Swedish‐style snus, nontobacco nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products, as safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes and other high‐risk tobacco products, following a harm reduction approach. The aim was to map the number and locations of nicotine consumer organizations globally and describe their history, legal status, membership, structure, objectives, working methods and activities, and funding. Methods We identified active organizations through the use of existing networks and referrals. All identified organizations were contacted and asked to fill in an online self‐completion survey through the representatives of the organizations. The data collected were cleaned and anonymized. Categorization and analysis of variable distributions were carried out. Responses to open–ended questions were analyzed qualitatively. Results A total of 52 active organizations were identified: 13 in Latin America, 8 in Africa, 24 in Europe, 5 in the Asia‐Pacific region, and 2 in North America. Most were established from 2016 onward, and 39 were legally incorporated. Their reported objectives were to raise awareness about SNP, promote rights to access SNP, and advocate for a legal and regulatory environment in which SNPs are available. They are small organizations: Most are operated with volunteers, with only 7 having any contracted or paid staff, and only 13 persons globally with a paid position. A total of 31 organizations had not received any funding support. The total global funding for all organizations was US$ 309,810. None reported receiving funding from tobacco or pharmaceutical companies. All pointed to important achievements in the public debate about SNP and tobacco harm reduction. Conclusion The organizations are run by enthusiastic individuals, most of whom have successfully quit smoking with the help of SNP. Organizations depend on the input of a small number of core workers, all organizations are under‐resourced and potentially fragile, and yet, they report significant activity and success. The challenge for these groups is to gain recognition at national and international level as legitimate stakeholders in the development of tobacco control policy with respect to safer alternatives to smoking.

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