Thailand takes lead in global tobacco fight

The marketing space for selling tobacco has shrunk considerably since the days when the Marlboro Man roamed freely across TV screens and city skylines around the world. Many countries now restrict the advertising of an addictive product that medical authorities say kills millions every year.

But few have gone as far as Thailand. Citing a ban on advertising, the Thai government ordered vendors in September to remove all cigarettes from display or risk a $50,000 fine. Activists say cigarette packets are effectively advertisements that should be hidden from view. Stores now carry signs advising customers to request tobacco products from their staffs.

The Thai measure is the latest skirmish in the global fight against smoking, which is increasingly focused on the developing world where at least 65 percent of tobacco is now consumed. The stakes are high in the rising economies of Asia, where an estimated 50,000 teens take up smoking every day, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Western tobacco companies facing stagnation at home have long sought a larger piece of the Asian pie. In their way stands a vocal antismoking lobby that is bending the ear of Asian governments and beginning to make some inroads, even in societies with entrenched smoking cultures.

"If you look at why Thailand has been successful [in curbing tobacco], you can't ignore the role of civil society in pushing governments to take action and mobilizing public opinion," says Bungon Rittipakdee, coordinator of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, an advocacy group.

Apart from Bhutan, where smoking in public was banned completely last year, Thailand has adopted the toughest tobacco controls of any developing country.

And there are results to show for it. A generation ago, over 60 percent of Thai adult males smoked. By 2004, the rate had dropped below 40 percent, though the trend for Thai women has been rising.

While Thailand's smoking rates remains high compared the US (now at 22 percent), it is lower compared to other Asian countries. For example, around 70 percent of men are reported to smoke in Vietnam and Indonesia where cigarettes are cheap and readily available. And China accounts for roughly 1 in 3 of every cigarettes smoked worldwide, according to the WHO.

A new factor is the new WHO-backed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that came into effect earlier this year and has been ratified by 94 countries, including India, Malaysia, and China, the world's biggest producer.

This treaty requires participants within five years to impose tough restrictions on tobacco sales, including a total ban on advertising and sponsorship, and has been hailed as a turning point by antismoking campaigners. (The US has signed but not ratified the treaty.)

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