In what has been described as a milestone of Myanmar’s tobacco control journey, the country has adopted plain packaging of all tobacco products, reports Scoop.

In line with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FTC), Myanmar has become the latest country to enforce standardised plain packaging for all tobacco products. 17 per cent of all deaths in the country and due to tobacco use. According to Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr Kyaw Kan Kaung, plain packaging is a significant milestone of Myanmar’s tobacco control journey. He explained that the new standardised packaging policy requires pictorial health warnings to cover 75 per cent of the front, back, sides and top of the packaging of all forms of tobacco, according to Scoop. Also, packaging must be in a standard specified colour and only contain information and the prescribed health warnings in a standard font. Flavourings are also prohibited.
Along with over 180 other nations across the globe, Myanmar is also obligated to implement Article 5.3 of the global tobacco treaty to firewall health policy making from all forms of tobacco industry interference, according to Scoop.
"21 countries are at different stages of implementing plain packaging of tobacco products in the world. Myanmar's leadership on tobacco control should spur and catalyse many more nations to follow suit on adoption of plain packaging" hopes Dr Tara Singh Bam, Asia Pacific Director of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and Board Director of Asia Pacific Cities Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT) in Singapore.