TPP threatens public health, advocate says

“It is very worrisome and a matter of life and death for the country,” said Hatai Chitanondh, president of the Thailand Health Promotion Institute of the National Foundation. “The agreement is so secretive. I want to bring awareness of this deal to the public, as I believe it will threaten our economy as well as the health of citizens.”
Hatai said the deal is of concern to health advocates because by opening up the tobacco sector it could lead to increased levels of smoking.
On a purely economic level, meanwhile, it poses a potential threat to Thai tobacco farmers, Hatai said.
The Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM) would not be able to compete against international tobacco firms because the reduction of tariffs would boost competition between foreign and domestic industries, Hatai said.
Chitanondh warned the TPP would not only heavily affect the TTM and Thai tobacco farmers, but also prevent free implementation of regulations. “All our legislative measures and regulations will be put aside. Anyone can come in to Thailand and do what they want… We’d have to abide by their rules.”
The TPP is under negotiation by the US, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Japan will take part in the next round of free-trade talks to be held later this month in Kuala Lumpur. Due to the secrecy of the agreement, the TPP has drawn much criticism from the public.
In April, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney said the US government has provided data to the Thai government about the TPP so that it could make a decision soon. Thailand, however, has not hinted at a decision, and it remains unclear if it will discuss the matter.