SE Asia calls for ban on tobacco advertising

SE Asia calls for ban on tobacco advertising

Alarmed by rising numbers of juvenile and female smokers in Southeast Asia, government representatives from across the region called Wednesday for tougher anti-tobacco regulations including a total ban on advertising.

The call was made at the end of a three-day meeting in Bangkok of officials from 10 Southeast Asian countries to forge a common stand ahead of negotiations for a global anti-tobacco treaty.

The fifth round of talks to finalize the treaty, known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC, treaty, is scheduled for Oct. 14-25 in Geneva. It is due to be ratified in May 2003 by 191 member countries and would be legally binding.

Southeast Asian countries are "deeply concerned about the escalation in smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption by children and adolescents, particularly young girls, as well as women," a statement at the end of the Bangkok meeting said.

One way to control the spread of smoking is to "work towards a total ban on all direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products and brand names," it said.

According to the World Health Organization, smoking by men has declined, but new smokers are mostly children and young women - even in Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, where tobacco control laws are the toughest in Asia.

A recent WHO study showed that as many as 50,000 teenagers start smoking daily in Asia, some as young as 11 years old. It said in the Philippines, more than half of children aged 7 to 17 smoke.

The group has warned Asian governments to brace for huge health care costs in the next two decades unless measures are taken. -- AP