Garin hits loophole in supervision of tobacco industry

Health Secretary Janette Garin believes making the Inter-agency Committee on Tobacco (IACT) oversee the tobacco industry has hindered efforts to regulate cigarette sales promotion.

Speaking to reporters over the week- end, Garin said the IACT’s composition must be reviewed as its supervision of the tobacco industry has become a “loophole” in Republic Act 9211, the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.

“If we will base it on the law, it’s really IAC that has the right (to implement the law),” she said. The Department of Health (DOH) regulated the sales promotion of cigarette products because IACT has been inactive for a long time, Garin said.

Last week, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the DOH does not have the authority to regulate the sales promotion of cigarette products.

The SC had upheld a 2011 ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) that the DOH cannot ban the tobacco industry from conducting promotional activities.

Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. and Fortune Tobacco Corp. had questioned before the CA the DOH resolution implementing the ban.

The IAC, not the DOH, has the exclusive power to implement RA 9211, the SC ruled.

Garin said the DOH will coordinate with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to possibly reach a “middle ground” with the tobacco industry.

“We will be doing the necessary representation with the DTI and other government agencies to actually come into terms with the tobacco producers,” she said.

“I do believe time will come that the tobacco producers will be cooperative.”

The IACT was challenged yesterday to take the lead in regulating all tobacco sales promotion activities in the country.

Maricar Limpin, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP) executive director, said “it is high time” for the IACT to finally act on regulating tobacco sales promotions, especially after SC ruled that it has primary jurisdiction over these cases.

“Time and again, let us put a stop to tobacco companies’ continuous promotion of their deadly product without proper approval from any regulatory agency,” she said.

Limpin said the SC ruling is a “welcome development” for anti-tobacco advocates because it gives them a clear picture on which government agency has the sole responsibility of regulating tobacco sales promotion.

“Before it was a toss between the DTI and the DOH but with the SC decision, the responsibility now lies in one, single entity which is the IACT,” she said.

The FCAP and other tobacco control advocates will now be very vigilant against all possible attempts to thwart or railroad regulation on tobacco promotions, especially with these companies targeting the vulnerable sector of society, the youth, Limpin said.