Japan Tobacco has sued the Thai government over a plan to increase the size of health warnings on cigarette packages, and two more lawsuits will soon follow.
Graphic shows a sample of the new, authorised cigarette packets, with 85% warning and 15% left for the brand name. (Provided by Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance - Seatca)
"Japan Tobacco filed a lawsuit in the Administrative Court on June 19 to block the plan," spokesman Hisashi Sekiguchi said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
The measure violates Thailand's constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of expression, the Tokyo-based firm said.
The new regulation pushed by the Public Health Ministry and anti-smoking campaigners requires the graphic warnings on cigarette packs to cover 85% of the package space, up from the current 55%, in an effort to further curb smoking.
The new regulations were published in the Royal Gazette on April 5 and will become effective 180 days after that, or on Oct 2. The size of the graphic image will make it the world's largest graphic warnings on cigarette packs, topping Australia, which mandates 82.5% coverage.
All producers or importers have to use images provided by the Disease Control Department, which has prepared 10 designs. They are also required to show an advert for the 1600 hotline for people who want to quit smoking.
The Thai Tobacco Trade Association (TTTA), a group of 1,400 retailers, wholesalers and distributors, and the Philip Morris Thailand unit will file separate lawsuits before July 4 with the court.
TTTA executive director Varaporn Namatra said the regulation will lead to problems for retailers, including higher operational costs. They say it will also likely cause a consumer shift towards cheaper roll-your-own tobacco which is not subject to the new warning regulations, and already makes up about 50% of all tobacco sold in Thailand.
Onanong Pratakphiriya, a spokeswoman for Philip Morris (Thailand), said: "Given negative impacts this policy will bring about on our trademarks and packaging, and the fact that the ministry ignored our voices and the voices of thousands of retailers in enacting this rule, we have no choice but to ask the court to intervene."
Pornthep Siriwanarangsun, director-general of the department, said she was ready to fight the lawsuit.
She said that the TTTA had their right to launch a lawsuit against the ministry but the ministry has the legal right to announce the [tobacco package] regulation.
"It is for the protection of people's health," she said. "We aren't concerned about the lawsuits."
The measure is in line with the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which allows the ministry to implement the measure without getting feedback from tobacco traders, Dr Pornthep said.
The National Statistic Office's data shows that 11.5 million people aged over 15 years old in Thailand were smokers in 2011, or 21.4% of the population. Of the total, 9.9 million of them - 86% - are male.