The Philippines issued an Order on May 24, 2010, which required pictorial health warnings on all tobacco packages. According to the Order, the warnings were to occupy the top 30% of the front and 60% of the back of the package. The warnings were to be in place 3 months after the publication of the order (i.e., the end of August, 2010); however, implementation of the warnings was delayed due to a legal challenge.
On July 18, 2014, the President of the Philippines signed a new Graphic Health Warning Bill into law. The law requires graphic health warnings on the bottom 50% of the front and back of tobacco packages, and a ban on misleading descriptors. A set of twelve different warnings will be rotated on packs, and changed every 24 months. Warning templates were released in late 2014. Different versions have been designed for use on light and dark coloured packs, as well as for vertical and horizontal packs. The new warnings are expected to appear in the market in mid-2016 as tobacco manufacturers and importers have been given one year’s time from the release of the templates to implement the warnings; and retailers have been given an additional 8 months to exhaust stock with the text warnings. Meanwhile, text warnings covering 30% of the front panel continue to appear on packages.
Health Warnings
Proposed in 2014**
Templates for light coloured, vertical packs are shown below. Click here to view all templates, including those for dark coloured packs, and horizontal packs.
** The images contained in this gallery are subject to Philippine copyright laws. Any duplication, reproduction, or use without the express consent of said party is prohibited. Countries should be contacted individually for usage of images.
Philippines
