HOUSE WF REPRESENTATIVES

RECEIVED
. oe 15 AUG 2016
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC ) DATE:
OF THE PHILIPPINES ) vve_sidoom _
First Regular Session ) ev: Yorde
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIV!
Bone. $yay REGISTRATION UNIT

BILLS AND INDEX SERVICE

Introduced by Representative H. Harry L. Roque Jr.

AN ACT
AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9211, OR THE TOBACCO REGULATION ACT
OF 2003, SECTION 13, ON WARNINGS ON CIGARETTE PACKAGES
EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Constitution, Article 2, Section 16, provides that

‘The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a

balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of
nature.

Health warning labels on cigarette packaging promote health awareness to
smokers. It is the objective of the bill to take these warnings further by also instilling to
the user environmental awareness by adding another label in cigarette packages
informing the consumer to dispose the cigarette litter properly, like any other consumer

product packaging like soda cans and plastic wrappers.’

‘tad

H. HARRY L. ROQUE JR.

"This bill was originally filed during the Fourteenth Congress, First Regular Session, and subsequently refiled
in the Sixteenth Congress, Third Regular Session by Miriam Defensor-Santiago,


NTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC)
HE PHILIPPINES. )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE a EB aay eS

Introduced by Representative H. Harry L, Roque Jr.

AN ACT
AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9211, OR THE TOBACCO REGULATION ACT
OF 2003, SECTION 13, ON WARNINGS ON CIGARETTE PACKAGES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION I. Section 13 of the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 is hereby further
amended to read as follows:

SECTION 13. Warnings on Cigarette Packages. — Under this Act:

a. _ All packages in which tobacco products are provided to consumers
withdrawn from the manufacturing facility of all manufacturers or imported into
the Philippines intended for sale to the market, starting 1 January 2004, shall be
printed, in either English or Filipino, on a rotating basis or separately and
simultaneously the following health warnings:

“GOVERNMENT WARNING: Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous
to Your Health,"

“GOVERNMENT WARNING: Cigarettes are Addictive;"


19

20

21

"GOVERNMENT WARNING: Tobacco Smoke Can Harm Your
Children;" or
"GOVERNMENT WARNING: Smoking Kills."

b. Upon effectivity of this Act until 30 June 2006, the health
warning shall be located on one side panel of every tobacco product
package and occupy not less than fifty percent (50%) of such side panel
including any border or frame.

¢. Beginning | July 2006, the health warning shall be located on
the bottom portion of one (1) front panel of every tobacco product package
and occupy not less than thirty percent (30%) of such front panel including
any border or frame. The text of the warning shall appear in clearly legible
type in black text on a white background with a black border and in contrast
by typography, layout or color to the other printed matters on the package.
The health warning shall occupy a total area of not less than fifty percent
(50%) of the total warning frame.

d. The warnings shall be rotated periodically, or separately and
simultaneously printed, so that within any twenty-four (24) month period,
the four (4) variations of the warnings shall appear with proportionate
frequency

e. The warning shall not be hidden or obscured by other printed

information or images, or printed in a location where tax or fiscal stamps


are likely to be applied to the package or placed in a location where it will
be damaged when the package is opened. If the warning to be printed on
the package is likely to be obscured or obliterated by a wrapper on the
package, the warning must be printed on both the wrapper and the package.

£ In addition to the health warning, all packages of tobacco
products that are provided to consumers shall contain, on one side panel,
the following statement in a clear, legible and conspicuous manner: "NO
SALE TO MINORS" or "NOT FOR SALE TO MINORS." The statement
shall occupy an area of not less than ten percent (10%) of such side panel
and shall appear in contrast by color, typography or layout with all the other
printed material on the side panel

g IN ADDITION TO THE HEALTH WARNING AND
THE MESSAGE REQUIRED IN PRECEDING PARAGRAPH, ALL
PACKAGES OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS THAT ARE PROVIDED
TO CONSUMERS SHALL CONTAIN, ON THE SIDE PANEL
OPPOSITE OF THAT WHICH CONTAINS THE MESSAGE
REQUIRED IN THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH, THE
FOLLOWING STATEMENT IN A CLEAR, LEGIBLE AND
CONSPICUOUS MANNER: "PLEASE DISPOSE OF — ALL.

CIGARETTE WAST

PROPERLY. DO NOT LI

ER." THE


STATEMENT SHALL OCCUPY AN AREA AD

APPEAR AS THE
MESSAGE IN THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH.

h. No other printed warnings, except the health warning and the
MESSAGES required in this Section, PARAGRAPHS F, AND G. shall

be placed on cigarette packages.

SECTION 2. Repealing Clause. ~ All laws, decrees, orders, and issuances, or
portions thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby

repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 3. Effectivity Clause.—This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after

its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,