Tobacco control group hits 7-11, cigarette firm
By Ronnel Domingo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:40:00 04/18/2008
MANILA, Philippines—A group of tobacco control advocates Thursday threatened to file criminal charges against convenience store chain 7-Eleven and cigarette maker Fortune Tobacco Corp. for allegedly violating the ban on outdoor tobacco advertising.
Maricar Limpin, executive director of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance of the Philippines (FCAP), said in a statement that the group had filed a complaint with the Inter-Agency Committee-Tobacco (IAC-T) headed by the Department of Trade and Industry.
The FCAP is a nongovernmental coalition of doctors, medical experts and civil society groups working to curb “the tobacco epidemic.”
Limpin, a medical doctor, said FCAP discovered that tobacco ads in the form of movable banners were openly displayed outside 7-Eleven stores.
“A new form of cigarette advertising has emerged, now coming in the form of X-banners,” she said.
Limpin said the FCAP had been receiving complaints from concerned citizens that the 7-Eleven stores “openly display banners outside their establishment depicting advertisements for Hope (a Fortune Tobacco brand) cigarettes with the slogan ‘Live Relaxed.’”
The doctor said that the cigarette ads “appear to be a new promotional tie-up between 7-Eleven and Fortune Tobacco” as all banners monitored by FCAP bore the logo of 7-Eleven.
“This is clearly a violation of Section 22 of Republic Act No. 9211 (or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003) which prohibits outdoor tobacco advertising effective July 1, 2007,” Limpin said.
The prohibition covers all cinema and outdoor advertising as well as those on television, cable television and radio.
Leaflets, posters and similar outdoor materials are allowed only inside the stores that sell tobacco products.
Limpin said FCAP sent a demand letter dated April 10 to Philippine Seven Corp. president Jose Victor Paterno, asking the firm to comply with the law.
The letter also warned Philippine Seven that it faces criminal charges if it fails to act within 10 days.
Also, the group complained to the IAC-T about the “illegal proliferation of banners located outside of 7-Eleven” and appealed to the committee to take appropriate actions.
“We have no option but to file the corresponding complaint and report their continued violation to the different offices of local officials concerned,” Limpin said.
She said that based on FCAP monitoring on April 3-11, at least six
7-Eleven branches were found to be displaying the offending ads, including those along the avenues of Tomas Morato, Timog, Roces and Quezon in Quezon City and the streets of Old Santa Mesa and Pureza in Santa Mesa, Manila.
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