Anti-tobacco campaign attracts 12 million signatures

Six key public health organizations and their allies have vowed to support a new draft of Thailand’s Tobacco Control Act, according to a story in The Nation.

They have called on the government and the National Legislative Assembly to push the law through so as to protect young people.

And they have called on the lawmakers to see through the ‘excuses and twisted facts’ put forward by tobacco companies; and to stop them from interfering in the legislative procedure.

At an academic conference in Chiang Mai province, the group said their campaign, via www.vote4tobaccolaw.com, had won attracted more than 12 million signatures as of September 15 and that its target for 15 million signatures would easily be achieved by the time deliberations on the new law were completed over the next six months.

The organizations behind the campaign include the Thai Public Health Club, the Mohanamai Network Foundation, and the Health Professional Association of Thailand.