Up in smoke: Philip Morris fined for publishing ads

Second largest cigarette maker fined Rs5,000.


April 10, 2012

ISLAMABAD: Philip Morris has been fined for publishing full page advertisements in leading magazines including Herald, Newsweek Pakistan and the weekly magazine of The Express Tribune among others in violation of laws.

The advertisement campaign of its cigarette brand Marlboro cost Philip Morris approximately Rs50 million, according to Pakistan Today.

The court imposed a fine of Rs5,000 as per the tobacco control laws. This case was the first-ever against a tobacco giant in Asia, said National Coordinator, Coalition for Tobacco Control-Pakistan, Khurram Hashmi.

The industry is not allowed to place advertisements in print media which are more than one square inch, according to section 7 of Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance 2002.

Hasmi said the tobacco industry for quite some time has been blatantly violating the laws by covertly offering cash rebates to its consumers, however, the tobacco control cell showed its commitment to the cause when it took a firm stand on this blatant violation and dragged the tobacco company in the court.

The Civil Magistrate Hyderabad took up the case in response to a report lodged by Tobacco Control Cell Coordinator. Civil Magistrate Hyderabad, Ahmed Nawaz Domki in his order said it was clear that the accused had violated the law and ignorance of the law was no excuse.

“In just a decade’s time, we are already far ahead of countries in our region by introducing and implementing tobacco control laws. We were among the first ones to introduce ‘Pictorial Health Warnings’ on cigarette packs in this region and now, we set yet another example as being first for making the company accountable,” Hashmi added.

This is the second setback suffered by the second largest cigarette manufacturer this year as Philip Morris Pakistan reduced the operations in its smallest factory, located in Mandra, near Rawalpindi due to financial constraints.

The company posted net loss of Rs284 million for the first three quarters of the year, ending September 30, 2011.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2012.

COMMENTS (13)

Antebellum | 11 years ago | Reply The advertisement campaign of its cigarette brand Marlboro cost Philip Morris approximately Rs50 million, ... The court imposed a fine of Rs5,000 What a FARCE! Also, why did the publishers got scot-free? Throw all of them in jail
FK | 11 years ago | Reply

I think Pakistan Today need to get their facts right. Or maybe they need to be taught their counting again! Even if they would have gone in print everyday with premium positions in leading newspapers, there is no way you can sum it up to 50 million! Lets not forget we are talking about PRINT here NOT TV!

VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ