The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: In 1994, Philip Morris founded the ASEAN Art Awards, which became the most prestigious arts competition in South East Asia. While the company claimed that it was supporting “Art for Art's sake,” internal tobacco industry documents attest otherwise: a main objective of the Awards was to provide Philip Morris with direct access to senior government officials and strong relationships at the ASEAN Secretariat. In 2004, Thai and U.S. groups sought to disrupt Philip Morris' strategy for gaining political influence.

Methods: The Thailand Health Promotion Institute, in collaboration with Essential Action and Reality Check, held a youth advocacy training leading up to the 2004 ASEAN Art Awards in Thailand. As part of the training, Thai and U.S. participants organized advocacy events to counter two specific ASEAN Art Award events, a reception at the National Art Gallery in Bangkok and an “artist interaction” in the historic city of Ayutthaya.

Results: The advocacy events organized by the tobacco control advocates were well covered by the media and succeeded in disrupting Philip Morris' public relations efforts. In 2005, Philip Morris ended its sponsorship of the ASEAN Art Awards.