The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Introduction TAB INFO 2005, one of the biggest tobacco exposition in Asian region was held in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 14-16 November 2005.More than 200 international companies displayed their products. The event was sponsored by Tobacco Reporter, Tobacco Journal International and Dr Kater Marketing.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to present the views of Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC) which opposed this international tobacco event from the outset and to discuss efforts taken by the Council to stop the exposition.

Methods:

MCTC wrote to the Prime Minister, Health Minister and the KL City Mayor who were directly involved in allowing this expo to take place and submitted 30,000 signatures to the Prime Minister. MCTC was adviced against any legal action since the government granted the approval to the organizers.

A staged protest by MCTC Board Members at the KL Convention Centre was dispersed by security guards and taken away to the police station for interrogation, where we warned not to carry on with the protest. A press conference was held by MCTC and the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations to register our protest against the expo.

Results:

The TAB INFO 2005 exhibition was carried out with the government of Malaysia's approval despite protest by NGOs. As signatory to the Convention, it is clear that the government made a mockery of the FCTC by allowing this Expo to take place.