Pictorial Health Warnings in ASEAN
SEATCA provides constant technical expertise and support to ASEAN Member States in developing and implementing of effective health warnings policies in compliance with World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) Article 11 Guidelines. The Guidelines on Article 11 (packaging and labelling on tobacco products) was adopted at the third session of the FCTC Conference of Parties (COP 3) in November 2008.
With SEATCA support
All ten ASEAN countries have legislated pictorial health warnings (PHWs) on cigarette packages.
Thailand adopted 85% PHWs The largest size since 2014
Four other countries Brunei, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Singapore (July 2020) require warnings size (75%).
4 countries adopted standardized tobacco packaging
Thailand 2019
Singapore 2020
Myanmar 2022
Standardized tobacco packaging requirements that should have been implemented on 10 April 2022 - 180 days after the Ministry of Health issued its directive on 12 October 2021, but was postponed multiple times, most recently to 21 October 2025, due to strong tobacco industry interference.
Lao PDR 2024
Lao PDR required standardized tobacco packaging by 5 December 2024, with a six-month transition period. However, the tobacco industry has failed to comply despite a 6-month grace period for compliance. The Lao Ministry of Health issued a final notice to tobacco companies, requiring them to implement standardized tobacco packaging by 15 August 2025, following the industry’s failure to comply with a 1 March 2025 extended deadline.
Malaysia and Philippines
Both countries have taken initiatives to consider standardized packaging measures. Globally, there are at least 44 countries and territories moving forward with standardized packaging, with 27 countries having adopted the measure following Australia’s lead (in 2012), 3* having it in practice and at least 14 other countries are in varying stages of introducing standardized packaging laws.
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ASEAN countries have banned the use of misleading descriptors such as “light” and “mild” on any tobacco product packages. Six countries gave less than 10 months to the tobacco industry to comply with pictorial health warnings. The PHWs are applied to all shapes and forms of tobacco packaging.
The ASEAN region’s PHWs images are shared and copyright-free images can be obtained through the ASEAN image bank and sharing mechanism facilitated by SEATCA.
*Standardized packaging has been implemented in practice in 3 countries where packages are imported from a country with plain packaging – Monaco (from France), Cook Islands (from New Zealand), and Niue (from Australia).
For more information, please refer to SEATCA FCTC Article 11 Index.
Publications
Packaging design analysis to support standardised packaging in the ASEAN
This report analyses cigarette packaging design strategies and promotional elements used by industry to subvert and dilute the effectiveness of existing regulations on pictorial health warnings and bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship that are implemented in ASEAN countries.
SEATCA tobacco packaging and labelling index
Implementation of Article 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in ASEAN Countries
Implementation timeline of latest set of pictorial health warnings/ standardized packaging in ASEAN
Country
Year of implementation- Round of rotation
Size (%) and location (front & back)
Date of approval
Date of implementation
Number of rotating current health warnings
Duration of industry compliance
Brunei
2008, 2012
Top 75%, 75%
22 Feb
2012
1 Sept 2012
7
less than 6 months
Cambodia
2016, 2018, 2021, 2024
Top 55%, 55%
20 Apr 2023
1 May 2024
2
9 months
Indonesia
2014, 2018, 2026*
Top 50%, 50%
July 2024
July 2026
5
12 months
Lao PDR
2016, 2024**
Top 75%, 75%
13 May 2024
5 Dec 2024
6
19 months
Malaysia
2009, 2014, 2025***
Top 65%, 65%
1 Oct 2024
1 Oct 2025
12
Less than 7 months
Myanmar
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025***
Top 75%, 75%
12 Oct 2021
10 Apr 2022
10
6 months
Philippines
2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2026****
Bottom 50%, 50%
21 Apr 2025
4 Mar 2026
12
12 months
Indonesia
2004, 2006, 2013, 2020******
Top 75%, 75%
1 Jul 2019
1 Jul 2020
6
12 months
Thailand
2005, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2019, 2022*******
Top 85%, 85%
14 Jul 2021
11 Jan 2022
10
9 months
Vietnam
2013
Top 50%, 50%
8 Feb
2013
8 Aug 2013 for soft packs,
8 Dec 2013 for hard packs
6
6-10 months
* The 3rd rotation of Indonesia PHWs with an increased warning size to 50%, effective July 2026.
** Lao PDR ranked the fourth ASEAN country to require standardized packaging on tobacco products effective on 5 December 2024, with a six-month transition period.
After the tobacco industry failed to comply with 1 March 2025 extended deadline, the Ministry of Health issued a final notice requiring compliance by 15 August 2025.
*** The 3rd rotation of Malaysia PHWs with an increased warning size to 65% front and back panels of principle areas, effective 1 October 2025.
**** Myanmar was the third ASEAN country to implement standardized packaging requiring 10 PHWs for smoked and smokeless tobacco products (5 PHWs each), effective by 10 April 2022, but was postponed multiple times, most recently to 21 October 2025, due to strong tobacco industry interference.
***** The 6th rotation of the Philippines PHWs effective March 2026.
****** Singapore has implemented standardized packaging and increased the pictorial warning size from 50% to 75% effective by 1 July 2020.
******* Thailand standardized packaging with a new set of 10 rotating pictorial health warnings effective 11 January 2022.
