Phillip Morris trains distributors on preventing sale of cigarettes to minors

PHILLIP Morris TT, the manufacturers and distributors of L&M and Malboro cigarettes in TT has completed the training of 2,270 point of sale operators in TT, it said in the media release on May 28.

The programme, the Youth Access Prevention Program (YAP) was rolled out to educate the company’s business partners on the importance of tobacco and nicotine products being sold exclusively to adult customers.

Phillip Morris TT general manager Tomas Ayala said that YAP is a mandatory programme in all Phillip Morris International Markets.

“To achieve our vision of a world without cigarettes, we must do everything we can to keep our products out of the reach of minors. Of course this requires all the efforts of all key parties,” he said.

Noting that the products Phillip Morris sells are nicotine-based and therefore addictive he expressed support for regulations to ensure that only adults can buy cigarettes and products containing nicotine, as well as enforcement of minimum age laws.

“There needs to be regulatory measures by the government that restrict by law the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products to minors, while providing adults who smoke access to these products and information based on scientific evidence.”

The release said in addition to point-of-sale actions, Philip Morris TT's marketing policies include strict marketing codes based on the principle that they must only sell their products to adult smokers and existing nicotine users.

This includes careful design and labelling of products, the use of flavours that do not appeal to minors and self-regulation of advertising and its diffusion spaces.