Health Ministry and WHO share Information on Tobacco Control

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (8 December 2010)

The Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have organized the 16^th Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) for Tobacco Control in Phnom Penh, on December 7^th to share information and experience of tobacco control activities and recheck the outcome of sub-decree on the health warning publication on the cigarette park.

H.E. Dr. Ung Phyrun, Srecetary of State for the Health Ministry said, using the tobacco production affected human health, economy, and environment heavily, so tobacco education and redaction of tobacco education and reduction of tobacco use is everybody’s duties. It needs the Ministry and related institutions to work for reducing the increase of using tobacco to promote public health and poverty reduction.

“Since the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Education and Reduction of Tobacco Use reborn, it accomplished many achievements especially implementation on the National Planning Strategy for tobacco control, Tobacco Convention of WTO, draft law on Tobacco Control Sub-Decree on the Health Warning Publication, Cigarette Pack and draft sub-decree on forbidding tobacco advertising measure,” he mentioned.

Nowadays, Tobacco production which is selling in market has no publication health warning on cigarette pack yet even though Ministry of Health spread the information to all companies. “I hope Inter-Ministerial committee can find solution to deal with this problem, he remarked.

According to a current report of sub-decree on the publication health on the cigarette pack shows that there are still a lot of cigarette packages have no publish health warning in Khmer language. Moreover, some companies implemented follow sub-decree not completely due some packages have health warning publication, others are not.

Dr. Michel Thieren, senior program management officer of WHO, said that tobacco is not only addictive and kills half of the people who use it but also kills upward of 600,000 people who exposed to the Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke (SHTS) according to the most recent finding released by WHO on the 26^th of November 2010. In Cambodia, more than one and half million of non-smokers were exposed to SHTS. About 80 percent of Cambodian children fewer than 13 years and 75 percent of women live in households with at least one regular smoker. This turns into roughly 3.1 million of children victims of millions of children victims of SHTS.

“WHO congratulates the Ministry of Health and the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Education and Reduction of Tobacco Use (IMC) for endorsement of sub-decree on banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, an effective measure to prevent children youth and women from taking up smoking,” he said. “The guideline for implementation of WHO and FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) article 13, which was adapted by the member state, recommends having a comprehensive ban. Any exception, including allowing point of purchase advertising is considered incomprehensive ban. Any exception, including allowing point of purchase advertising to considered incomprehensive,” he emphasized.

He noted that WHO is happy to learn that the Ministry of Health commits to enforce the sub-decree on Health Warning and it went into force since July 2010. It is very crucial to continue monitoring the implementation of the sub-decree, and then to take action.

He commented that the tobacco tax increase is another most effective measure to decrease to the tobacco consumption. WHO Cambodia commits to work closely with IMC in particular the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economy and Finance toward to the technical toward to the technical working group to take learning role in generate evidence to support this policy.

By S.L (Vol. 4, Issue 50, SEAW)