Myanmar’s military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings (MEH) has massively increased production of its Red & Blue cigarette brand since 2022, reports Myanmar Now.
Following the 2021 military coup, many consumers and activists opposed to the coup boycotted the two better known military-owned cigarette brands.
Few boycott the Red & Blue brand because it is not widely known that MEH has a role in producing it.
Since 2022, the quantity of Red & Blue cigarettes produced has increased fifteenfold.
Myanmar has postponed the implementation of standardized tobacco packaging until April 2023, following a lobbying campaign by opponents of the measure, reports Eco-Business. The law was originally set to take effect on April 10, 2022.
The new packaging regulations require the outer surfaces of tobacco product packages to be a standardized dull dark brown, flat, smooth and devoid of any attractive designs or decorative elements.
Health advocated criticized the delay.
“Instead of postponing its implementation by 12 months, the government should have penalized tobacco companies for not complying by the April 10 deadline,” said Ulysses Dorotheo, executive director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance.
“Only the tobacco industry will profit from this bad decision while the government and people of Myanmar will suffer more diseases, healthcare costs, deaths and their related socioeconomic burden,” added Dorotheo.
Myanmar is set to implement the Standardized Packaging Notification that was issued by the country’s Ministry of Health Oct. 12, 2021, according to Eco-Business.
The notification will go into effect April 10, 2022, followed by a 90-day phase out period for old tobacco packaging; old packaging must be phased out by July 12, 2022.
New packaging must be a standardized dull dark brown color, be flat, smooth and devoid of any attractive colors, designs or decorative elements. Pictorial health warnings are required to cover 75 percent of the packaging’s front and back surfaces. Tobacco product packages include boxes, cases, cartons, etc.
“With standardized packaging, Myanmar will be implementing a highly effective public health policy that will help denormalize tobacco use,” said Ulysses Dorotheo, executive director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. “We look forward to the full and strict implementation of this regulation and call on the government to swiftly identify and penalize any tobacco company that does not comply by the April 10 deadline.”
“Standardized packaging is a cost-effective and strategic way to discourage tobacco use; it prevents the tobacco industry from using packaging to attract consumers in a creative but deceptive way. Pictorial health warnings more effectively convey to the public the dangers of tobacco use,” said Dorotheo.