DOH hits tactics on cigarette alternatives

The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday hit the tobacco industry for making “deceptive messages and tactics” in promoting electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) and heated tobacco products (HTPs), saying they are all harmful to health.

In a statement, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo noted that these products are “addicting and potentially harmful as there is no clear evidence that they are useful for quitting smoking.”

He maintained that E-cigarettes and HTPs, which pertain to battery-powered devices that heat, not burn, tobacco. On the other hand, E-cigarettes refer to battery-powered devices that are used to heat liquid into a vapor that can be inhaled.

“Given these, it is prudent to uncover the deceptive messages and tactics of the groups that forward the market of HTPs and E-cigarettes, claiming that these products are contributory in forwarding smoke-free people and environment,” he added.

The DOH has issued the statement in support of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) whose concept of “Smoke Free Index” was reportedly hijacked by the Foundation for A Smoke-Free World (FSFW), which is allegedly being funded by a tobacco company.

“We regret the act of FSFW to hack the concept of Smoke-Free Index as conceptualized by SEATCA, a partner of the ASEAN members in promoting health. Countering and exposing deceptive campaigns of the tobacco industry and its front groups is not just an endeavor, it is a fight for the health and life of the present and future generations,” Domingo said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

He pointed out that to be smoke-free means to be free from the use and exposure to all types of cigarettes.

SEATCA has developed its Smoke-Free Index to assess the implementation of smoke-free policies in all ASEAN countries in line with the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

In a separate statement, SEATCA said the FSFW announced in March that it had appointed a research company to develop the “the first ever Smoke-Free Index,” which would evaluate the actions of 15 tobacco companies to shift from conventional cigarettes to alternative “smokefree” products.

According to SEATCA executive director Ulysses Dorotheo, the FSFW has filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for ownership of the mark “[Smoke-Free Index]” in January 2019. Similar trademark applications have also been filed in the EU, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, China and Canada.

“Considering that SEATCA’s Smoke-Free Index was first published in 2016, FSFW’s use and trademarking of the term ‘Smoke-Free Index’ is misleading, potentially confusing, and tantamount to wrongful appropriation of SEATCA’s intellectual property,” Dorotheo added.