Meet Myanmar's one-man anti-smoking lobby

AP

Tin Maung, an 89-year old anti-smoking campaigner, speaks during an interview at his residence in Yangon, Myanmar.

YANGON, Myanmar — As Big Tobacco sets up shop in Myanmar, one anti-smoking campaigner going on 90 years of age is doing everything he can to keep them at bay.

Over the last six decades, Tin Maung, 89, has written hundreds of articles in magazines and state-run newspapers, travelled to symposiums inside the country and out, and visited schools to warn youth about the dangers of smoking — funding all of his endeavors on his own.

After a half-century of isolation, sanctions and brutal military rule came to an end two years ago, some of the world's biggest companies have trumpeted their arrival in Asia's hottest frontier market. But the tobacco industry has a different strategy: It's slipping into Myanmar without fanfare.

With most international sanctions against the country lifted or suspended, foreign businesses from Coca-Cola and Unilever to Suzuki Motors have scrambled to get in.

So too has Big Tobacco but without the ribbon cuttings or grandly worded press announcements.

British American Tobacco, the world's second largest cigarette manufacturer, shepherded a select audience of government officials to a low key ceremony last month where it formalized a $50 million investment over five years to produce, market and sell its brands in Myanmar. Its factory, to be built on the outskirts of Yangon, will create about 400 jobs.

Japan Tobacco, No. 3 globally, quietly inked a deal nearly a year ago with local partner tycoon Kyaw Win. Company spokesman Royhei Sugata said a factory was being built, but refused to discuss details, from the project's scale or brand name to the plant's location.

China's largest tobacco producer is also setting up a multi-million dollar joint venture.

"They seem to think by entering the market stealthily, they can avoid public scrutiny," said Maung, who is a retired army major.

"Money can shut the mouth of many and I anticipate a very steep uphill battle with my anti-smoking campaign."

In a country where roads in many places are almost unnavigable and power outages constant, the nominally civilian government is hopeful that foreign investment will create new jobs and help speed development. But other priorities such as health, the environment and public welfare are sometimes swept aside.

Nang Naing Naing Shane, who heads the Ministry of Health's National Tobacco Control Program, said the Health Ministry's strong opposition to BAT, JT and others was overridden by the Myanmar Investment Commission. The commission's director quit under a cloud of suspicions about graft, but tobacco investment approvals were not overturned.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/08/22/meet-myanmars-one-man-anti-smoking-lobby/