Bangkok--21 Nov--124 Communications Consulting
Philip Morris (Thailand) Limited ("PMTL") says it does not intend to oppose the Ministry of Public Health's plan to require cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging and is instead focused on efforts to secure appropriate regulation for scientifically substantiated reduced-risk products. Mr. Gerald Margolis, Managing Director of PMTL (Thailand Branch), said that PMTL's parent company, Philip Morris International, is working to create a smoke-free future, and that the priority of the Company is to provide less harmful alternatives to adult smokers who otherwise continue to smoke.
"Today's issue is not about the packaging, it is about the cigarettes inside that really cause harm when people burn and smoke them. It is our goal to replace cigarettes with the smoke-free products we're developing and selling in more than 40 countries around the world."
"We firmly believe smoke-free products will ultimately benefit 10.7 million smokers in Thailand and public health," said Mr. Margolis.
In countries where smoke-free products are prohibited, such as Australia and Singapore, smoking rates have not moved significantly over the last several years despite increasingly aggressive regulatory and fiscal efforts. By contrast, in countries where smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes are allowed, such as UK, EU, Sweden and Japan, smoking rates have declined at historic rates, to historic lows.
"Regulatory measures for cigarettes should be complemented by policies that allow and encourage smokers who do not quit to switch to better, smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes. Reversing Thailand's ban and appropriately regulating these products could achieve more than the proposal to require plain packaging. We also believe that the implementing regulation should be reasonable and apply to all tobacco products, including roll-you-own product, as well as it should not create any burdens or disruptions to business operators"
"Today, Thai law requires tobacco products to be burned and smoked. That is unfortunate, because we believe the millions of Thai men and women who smoke deserve the same access to better, smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes as smokers do in the rest of the world" Mr. Margolis concluded.
Designing a Smoke-Free Future
Philip Morris (Thailand) Limited "PMTL", an affiliate of Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI), is now a leader in the international cigarette import business in Thailand. We commenced the import and sale of PMI's tobacco brands since 1991 and employ approximately 400 talented Thai employees to whom we attribute our corporate culture and business results in designing a smoke-free future. The greatest contribution we are making towards sustainability is to address the impact of smoking on health. We are now building our future on smoke-free products that are a much better consumer choice than continuing to smoke cigarettes. Our goal is that these products ultimately replace cigarettes to the benefit of adult smokers, society, our company and our shareholders. For more information, see www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.