Cambodia ready with new warnings

The Tobacco Industry Association of Cambodia said on Saturday that new cigarette packaging, which includes graphic and textural warnings, is ‘ready’, according to a story in The Phnom Penh Post.

The packaging, which will become a government requirement as of July 23, might not appear on the market for a few months as businesses clear old stock.

According to a law adopted on October 22, 2015, and confirmed by the Ministry of Health on February 15, graphic pictures have to cover 50 percent of the cigarette packaging, while a further five percent has to be given over to a written message in Khmer.

Fines have been set at four million riels (about $1,000) for tobacco companies that fail to comply with the new rules; at two million riels for distributors and wholesalers; and 10,000 riels for retailers.

Mom Kong, executive director of the Cambodia Movement for Health, said the cigarette companies should roll out the new packaging immediately.

“The government gave the companies nine months to prepare,” Kong said. “That is a very long time, and I don’t think the companies need to take any more time.

“In Laos, the government gave companies four months; other countries had six or seven. So nine months for Cambodia is enough for companies to sell their products with the new warnings.

“I will see if there are no new warning packages on the market by the end of July. We will be a watchdog on the market and monitor how the companies obey for Cambodians’ health.”