5 November 2025, Bangkok: Two decades after world governments agreed to a global health treaty to end the tobacco pandemic, more than half a million people in Southeast Asia are still dying annually from tobacco-caused diseases.
Twelve days before the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the latest regional tobacco control scorecard reveals that ASEAN member states are still making uneven and slow progress in implementing life-saving measures to prevent and mitigate the impact of nicotine addiction and exposure to tobacco smoke.
The 5th Edition of 2025 FCTC Scorecard, released by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), assesses how the ten ASEAN Member States are implementing key provisions of the WHO FCTC.
The latest scorecard shows that Thailand and Singapore continue to lead ASEAN in tobacco control efforts, with a strong focus on good governance reinforcing protections against tobacco marketing, secondhand smoking, and cheap, accessible tobacco products.
Indonesia, the only ASEAN country that has yet to ratify the WHO FCTC and has practically no policy to protect its bureaucracy from industry interference, remains at the bottom of the regional ranking, highlighting the challenges of implementing lifesaving tobacco control measures without full commitment to the WHO FCTC.
“ASEAN cannot go on with half-measures while lives are lost every day to the tobacco pandemic. Governments do not lack knowledge about the harms of the tobacco industry. What they lack is the full political commitment to put an end to this deadly industry,” said Dr Ulysses Dorotheo, Executive Director of SEATCA.
Link for SEATCA FCTC Scorecard – https://seatca.org/publications/
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