The Graphic Health Warnings Law

On July 15, 2014, President Aquino has signed into law Republic Act Number 10643 or otherwise known as "The Graphic Health Warnings Law.  This act shall effectively instill health consciousness through graphic health warnings on tobacco products.

If this law shall not be complied with, a sale of any cigarette or tobacco product shall not be allowed by any person or any legal entity.

The reasons why this Act was enacted are:

1.  To have Graphic Health Warnings that effectively warn of the devastating effects of tobacco use and exposure to second hand smoke;

2.  To remove misleading or deceptive numbers or descriptions like "low tar", "light", "ultra lights" or "mild" which convey or tend to convey that a product or variant is healthier, less harmful or safer; and

3.  To further promote the right to health and information of the people.

As defined in the Act, "Graphic Health Warnings" refer to the photographic image printed on the tobacco product package which accurately depicts the hazards of tobacco use and is accompanied by textual warning related to the picture.

“Tobacco Product Package” means the packet and package of tobacco products and any outside packaging and labelling of tobacco products for sale and distribution in the domestic market, importation, trade, exchange, or for exhibition, such as, but not limited to, packs, tins, boxes, pouches, flip-tops, slide and shell packages, cartons, packages containing one (1) product unit, or other containers of tobacco products containing the logo or trademark of the tobacco companies, primarily intended for consumers or for retail sale: Provided, That for mastercases that contain the logo or trademark of tobacco brands, such mastercases shall contain the textual health warning “SMOKING KILLS” which shall be printed in the same single color and in bold print as the trademark logo: Provided, further, That textual health warnings shall be of equal prominence and visibility as the logo or trademark of tobacco companies. Such textual warnings on the mastercase shall occupy not more than fifty percent (50%) of each principal display panel of the mastercase.

“Tobacco Products” means products entirely or partly made of leaf tobacco as raw material, which are manufactured to be used for smoking, sucking, chewing or snuffing, or by any other means of consumption.

As provided in this Act, it is only applicable to tobacco products that are locally manufactured or imported and introduced in the Philippine market. Cigarettes intended or offered for export shall only be subject to the requirement that one (1) side panel of the mastercases, reams/cartons, and one (1) side panel of each cigarette pack primarily intended for retail sale to consumers, shall contain the following markings and information: “For sale only in ______”, “Made under authority of______”, tax number assigned by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to the domestic manufacturer that exports tobacco products and fiscal and regulatory marking requirements of the country where the tobacco products will be ultimately sold.

Graphic Health Warnings – One (1) year after the issuance of the templates by the Department of Health (DOH), cigarette packages and other tobacco product packages, including package inserts and onserts, and any outside packaging and labelling, withdrawn from the manufacturing facilities, or imported into the Philippine customs territory shall bear the prescribed highly visible full-color Graphic Health Warnings, that shall have two (2) components: a photographic picture warning and an accompanying textual warning that is related to the picture.

(a) The Graphic Health Warnings shall be printed on fifty percent (50%) of the principal display surfaces of any tobacco package; it shall occupy fifty percent (50%) of the front and fifty percent (50%) of the back panel of the packaging;

(b) The Graphic Health Warnings shall be located at the lower portions of the said panels or Principal Display Areas;

(c) Nothing shall be printed or applied on a location where it is likely to obscure or cover, in part or in whole, the Graphic Health Warnings or the location where the internal revenue strip stamp is to be affixed as may be required by the BIR;

(d) No part of the warning may be obliterated, obscured, folded, severed or become unreadable when the tobacco package is opened or closed or when a wrapper on the package is removed;

(e) The Graphic Health Warnings shall be printed in four colors /-cmyk-/ screen 133 lines per inch based on a source file of 300 dpi;

(f) The printing of the Graphic Health Warnings shall be done using current available technology for purposes of providing vivid and realistic pictures, without the use of any border, frame or any other design that will effectively lessen the size of the warning;

The Graphic Health Warnings shall be printed or inscribed on the package in a color which contrasts conspicuously with the background of the package or its labels;

(g) A maximum of twelve (12) templates of Graphic Health Warnings shall be printed simultaneously and these shall be rotated periodically for each brand family and also for each variant, so that every twenty-four (24) months, the variations of the warnings shall appear in the market with approximately equal frequency and equal display of health warnings and messages on retail packages; and

(h) Graphic Health Warnings specifications –

(1) The text warning accompanying the photographic picture warning shall be worded in such manner that an ordinary layman will understand what the picture is about and what the ill-effects of smoking are on the health of the smoker and on the people around him;

(2) The text warning shall be placed on areas of the photograph where it will not obscure the picture itself but will be prominently displayed;

(3) The text shall use no more than twenty percent (20%) of the entire area of the Graphic Health Warnings and shall appear in clearly legible type and in contrast by typograph, layout and color, without the use of any border, frame or any other design that will effectively lessen the size of the textual warning; and

(4) The accompanying text shall be printed in Filipino on the front panel and English on the back panel. In the case of other containers where there is only one (1) external surface area, the accompanying text will alternately be in English or Filipino.

Penalties for Noncompliance. 

 

(a) The following penalties shall individually apply to manufacturers, importers, and distributors of tobacco products as well as their agents/representatives for any violation of Sections 6 and 7, and Section 11 insofar as they are responsible for providing display materials that are in violation of this Act:

(1) On the first offense, a fine of not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00);

(2) On the second offense, a fine of not more than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00); and

(3) On the third offense, a fine of not more than Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00) or imprisonment of not more than five (5) years, or both, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That the business permits and licenses, in the case of a business entity or establishment shall be revoked or cancelled.

If the guilty officer is a foreign national, he shall be deported after service of sentence and/or payment of applicable fines without need of further deportation proceedings and shall be permanently barred from re-entering the Philippines.

Each withdrawal or importation into the Philippine customs territory of noncompliant tobacco packages, regardless of size, for sale to the market, after the compliance date shall constitute one (1) offense. An additional penalty of One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) per day shall be imposed for each day the violation continues after having received the order from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) notifying the company of the infraction.

(b) The following penalties shall individually apply to retailers/sellers of tobacco products as well as their agents/ representatives for any violation of Sections 6 and 7 of this Act, insofar as they are involved in the display, offering for sale and selling of the covered products, as well as Section 11 of this Act:

(1) On the first offense, a fine of not more than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00);

(2) On the second offense, a fine of not more than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00); and

(3) On the third offense, a fine of not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or imprisonment of not more than one (1) year, or both, at the discretion of the court. The business permits and licenses, in the case of a business entity or establishment shall be revoked or cancelled.

Each day that noncompliant tobacco packages are found in the retail establishments of the retailers after the compliance date shall constitute one (1) offense. An additional penalty of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00), per day shall be imposed for each day the violation continues after having received the order from the DTI notifying the retailers of the infraction.

(c) The imposition of the fines shall take into consideration the annual gross sales, capital investment and employee size of the manufacturers, importers and distributors, and in the case of retailers and sellers, their total assets.

Source:  Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.

Note:  The pictures here are taken from Google.  They are not owned by the blogger.