The Philippine Aromatic Tobacco Development Association (PATDA) said the FCTC’s latest set of recommendations to ban the use of flavours in cigarettes would have a “catastrophic impact” on the jobs and livelihoods of tobacco growers in the country.

“A ban on the use of ingredients in the manufacture of tobacco products proposed under the draft guidelines of Articles 9 and 10 of the FCTC effectively leads to a ban on traditional blended cigarettes that contain burley tobacco, which is grown in the Philippines,” PATDA president, Winston Uy, was quoted as saying. He added that a ban on blended cigarettes would significantly affect consumers in the Philippines because blended cigarettes represented more than 95 per cent of the domestic market. Furthermore, the recommendations would lead to a ban on menthol cigarettes, which account for close to 50 per cent of the domestic market. (pi)