Tobacco industry interference: A review of three South East Asian countries.

BACKGROUND: The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3 requires governments to protect tobacco control policies from the commercial interest of the tobacco industry (TI). TI interference is the biggest barrier to implementing comprehensive tobacco control measures. OBJECTIVE: This paper reviews the extent of the TI's interference in tobacco control policy development in three countries, Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia, and the governments' efforts to protect these policies. METHODS: The paper draws on incidents of TI interference reported in the 2016 Tobacco Industry Interference Index: ASEAN Report on Implementation of the WHO FCTC Article 5.3. Base data were obtained through a questionnaire on twenty most commonly reported incidents of interference from the FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines recommendations. A scoring system was developed. RESULTS: All three countries faced varying levels of TI interference. Thailand, though known for its stringent tobacco control measures, still faced interference while Myanmar remains vulnerable. Indonesia faced the highest industry interference which may explain why it is lagging behind in tobacco control and remains a nonparty to the WHO FCTC. The TI gains access to government officials through offers of technical assistance and its corporate social responsibility activities. Transparency in dealing with the TI is needed in all three countries. Most governments have not set up disclosure procedures when dealing with the TI. CONCLUSION: Outside the Department/Ministry of Health, other departments remain unaware of Article 5.3, not utilizing its strength to regulate the TI. More concerted effort is needed to implement Article 5.3 to achieve greater success in tobacco control.

Household food security and buffering mechanisms in Thai and non-Thai households in Nong Loo Sub-district, Sangkhla Buri, Thailand.

This was a cross sectional study to measure any difference between Thai and Non-Thai households in the prevalence of food security and the effect of state and local buffering mechanisms on household food security status in Nong Loo Sub-district in Kanchanaburi Province. Seventy-five point eight percent of 211 households (120 Thai and 91 non-Thai households) were food insecure. Non-Thai households were found to be significantly more food insecure than Thai households (95.6% compared with 60.8%; OR=21.4). Non-Thais tended to have less knowledge of and access to buffering mechanisms; however, this was not statistically significant. Of interest, however, was that no statistically significant association was found between household food insecurity and lack of access to buffering mechanisms. Qualitative interview results suggested that landownership, possession of a Thai card (Government registration card), increased food prices, and a dependence on imported food from other districts were important factors associated with household food insecurity in the sub-district. This survey underlines the importance of the food insecurity as a problem among Thai and, more severely, among non-Thai households and provides stake holders with information that can be used to intensify programs to address this problem. Thailand has a long border area with a high proportion of non-Thai households, and it is likely that similar food insecurity problems exist in other areas also. Further research on nutrition security (as distinct from food security) of this population is recommended in order to better assess the impact of the observed food insecurity.