January 5, 2023
(Photo: Dublin Port website) Irish Tax and Customs seized 1.5 tonnes of ‘roll your own’ tobacco on 18 October 2022 at Dublin Port. The consignment carrying illicit tobacco product […]
January 5, 2023
(Photo: Europol website) Belgium Customs seized over 57 million cigarettes and more than 42 tons of cut tobacco in August 2022 in a joint operation against illicit trade in […]
July 11, 2022
On 11 July 2022 a new excise tax on heated tobacco products (HTPs) was approved in by the President of Kazakhstan, through the Tax Code 2022, in spite of the […]
July 11, 2022
Photograph: Ms Lada Bulakh, MP, member of the Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, providing a new sign to a restaurant, stating the ban on using HTPs, […]
May 16, 2022
The Parliament of Georgia adopted a set of amendments to the tobacco control legislation in May 2017 (Law No. 859-IIს), which foresaw the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco products. […]
May 10, 2022
On 10 May 2022, the Parliament of Cabo Verde passed Law No. 8/X/2022 on tobacco control. The adoption of the Law brings the country closer to its long-term vision of […]
May 6, 2022
The next phase in the implementation of the requirements of the “Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Regulations 2021” comes into force on 11 May 2022. From 11 May 2022, all […]
May 1, 2022
Photo courtesy of Hannu Huhtamo The Tobacco Act of Finland was tightened as the President of the Republic approved the amendments on 13 April 2022. The new amendments include the […]
February 18, 2022
Photograph: Mr Robin Swann MLA, Minister of Health, and Ms Colette Rogers, from the Public Health Agency, raising awareness of new regulations on smoking in private vehicles. (Photo courtesy of […]
February 15, 2022
In Tunisia, tobacco weighs heavily on the health of its population and on its economy. In 2019, 13,200 deaths, or 20% of all deaths are attributable to tobacco, while the […]
January 24, 2022
The Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica has adopted Law No. 10066, on the “Regulation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), Similar Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) and Electronic Devices using heated […]
January 7, 2022
The Parliament of Ukraine (the Rada) adopted, on 16 December 2021, the act “On amendments to some laws of Ukraine on the protection of public health from the harmful effects […]
November 5, 2021
Photograph: Hon. Dr Edwin G. Dikoloti, Minister of Health and Wellness, who was a strong advocate for the adoption of the new law. (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Health […]
September 22, 2021
On 15 September 2021, the requirements for Mexico’s next round of pictorial health warnings were published in the Official Journal. Mexico requires a 30% picture warning on the front, a […]
August 27, 2021
The German cabinet adopted the draft Tobacco Duty Modernisation Act on 10 August 2021 and was promulgated on 17 August 2021. With this legislation, the German Government is adapting tobacco […]
July 31, 2021
On 29 July 2021, the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic adopted the Law “On protecting the health of citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic from the consequences of tobacco consumption, […]
July 20, 2021
On 19 February 2020 Mexico banned the importation of electronic cigarettes, with or without nicotine, and heated tobacco products through a Presidential Decree. The Decree, published in the Federal Official […]
July 3, 2021
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey has adopted on 30 June 2021 an amendment to the regulation of manufacturing and labeling of tobacco products, requiring the increase in […]
July 1, 2021
The Danish Parliament has adopted in December 2020 an amendment to the Tobacco Act – the main source of law regulating tobacco products – establishing a requirement to ensure that […]
March 30, 2021
The National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) of Cambodia issued a new directive, on 18 March 2021, instructing all relevant ministries and institutions to take immediate action to stop the […]
March 18, 2021
The report on Examples of current practices on the implementation of Article 12 (Free zones and international transit) of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products was launched […]
March 10, 2021
Tobacco growers in the South of Lebanon have felt in the past years that growing tobacco is no longer a profitable business, compared to the investment in time and effort […]
February 12, 2021
Every year, 2.7 million people in the European Union (EU) are diagnosed with cancer, and 1.3 million die from it. Over 40% of cancer cases are preventable. Without reversing current […]
February 10, 2021
Picture warnings are now at arm’s length in Trinidad and Tobago after the Senate has approved new Regulations requiring them on 9 February 2021. This ends a long history of […]
February 2, 2021
On 1 January 2021, new tobacco tax measures entered into force under Law 466-IX “On Amending the Tax Code of Ukraine on Improving Tax Administration, Eliminating Technical and Logical Inconsistencies […]
January 18, 2021
On 17 December 2020 the regulation (EU) 2020/2151 implementing Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products […]
January 15, 2021
On 31 December 2020, the Government of Cabo Verde adopted Law No 109/IX/2020, which incorporates the State Budget for 2021. The specific tax on cigarettes was increased, introducing a fee […]
January 11, 2021
La Presidencia de la República del Paraguay aprobó el 29 de diciembre de 2020 el Decreto 4624, que modifica el Decreto 7606/2017 que regula la Ley 5538 de control del […]
January 11, 2021
The Presidency of the Republic of Paraguay adopted Decree 4624, on 29 December 2020, which modifies Decree 7606/2017 that regulates Law 5538 on tobacco control. The new decree regulates the […]
January 1, 2021
The municipality of the city of Milan, in northern Italy, has recently issued a regulation that might prove of interest to the tobacco control community. The act is titled ‘Regulation […]
December 21, 2020
On 6 October 2020, the Senate resolved to establish a Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction (the Committee). The Committee was in charge of inquiring into and reporting on tobacco reduction […]
October 2, 2020
The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, approved on 31 July 2020, new amendments to the Tobacco Control Law, aiming to harmonize the regulation of tobacco and other nicotine […]
October 1, 2020
Effective from 1 October 2020, all tobacco products in the Netherlands will be produced in neutral (plain) packaging as a standard, following the growing list of Parties that have already […]
September 29, 2020
Each cigarette manufacturer determines its own price that consumers pay in stores for a pack of cigarettes. This price is always printed on the pack. That is different from almost […]
August 17, 2020
The Ministry of Health and Sports of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar adopted, on 17 August 2020, Directive 91/2020 which contains guidance on interactions with […]
July 24, 2020
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, approved on 8 July 2020 a comprehensive set of tobacco control measures as part of the so called Health Act. This […]
July 15, 2020
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June 5, 2020
The Hon. Minister of Health of Bhutan launched on World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), 31 May 2020, the publication entitled “The Big Ban: Bhutan’s journey towards a tobacco-free society”. This […]
May 20, 2020
The 2014 European Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU, in relation to the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products prohibited the placing on the market of cigarettes and roll-your-own […]
February 25, 2020
The Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia adopted, on 13 February 2020, the new Law No 1280 on Prevention and Control of the Consumption of Tobacco Products strengthens the protection of […]
February 25, 2020
On 24 February 2020, the Official Gazette of Turkey published the Presidential Order issued by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, banning the importation of electronic cigarettes and related products in the […]
February 10, 2020
The Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 72(I)/2020 approved on 30 January 2020 bans online advertising of tobacco products, as well as point of sale advertising and display of tobacco products. This […]
January 20, 2020
The Parliament of India passed on 5 December 2019, Act No. 42 of the Ministry of Law and Justice on the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes. The Act establishes the ban […]
December 19, 2019
Des données récentes montrent que les taux de vapotage chez les jeunes au Canada augmentent à un rythme inquiétant. Le gouvernement du Canada a donc pris un certain nombre de […]
December 19, 2019
Evidence shows that youth vaping rates in Canada are increasing at a concerning pace. The Government of Canada has taken a number of steps in recent months to address the […]
November 25, 2019
The Department of Health’s “Guidance for Public Officials on Interacting with the Tobacco Industry” was released in November 2019, outlining the legal obligations placed on public health organizations and officials […]
November 20, 2019
The Austrian Government adopted, in November 2019, a comprehensive smoke-free policy, which also includes bars and restaurants among the premises covered by the ban. Up until now, smoking had been […]
October 25, 2019
Saudi Arabia started to apply 100% excise tax on all tobacco products in compliance with the agreed Gulf Cooperation Council tax increase to harmful products to human health and the […]
September 12, 2019
The 12 September 2019 marks the entry into force date of the regulation on plain cigarette packaging in Thailand that was officially gazette on 14 December 2018. The law permits […]
August 31, 2019
The groundbreaking step of introducing plain packaging for all tobacco products has now been completed by Saudi Arabia. The regulation issued by the Food and Drug Authority has now entered […]
July 26, 2019
Republic of Moldova passed amendments to the national tobacco control law 278/2007 (as amended in 2015) with primary aim to include ENDS, heated tobacco products and the devices used with […]
June 20, 2019
Tobacco packs with design features have started to appear in stores in Maldives. It was this year’s World No Tobacco Day that marked in Maldives the entry into force of […]
May 21, 2019
Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death in the world and it is no exception in Brazil. Every year 156,000 people are killed in the biggest country in […]
May 17, 2019
As of 1st January 2020, Belgium will be joining the growing number of countries that have adopted plain packaging and therefore be the fifth one in Europe, after France, the […]
May 15, 2019
In a referral order dated 15 May 2019, the interim relief judge of Le Mans ruled in favor of the Comité National Contre le Tabagisme (CNCT), a public organization whose […]
May 1, 2019
On 1 May 2019, Canadian Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas Taylor announced the adoption of comprehensive plain packaging regulations for tobacco packaging and products, effective from 9 November 2019 at […]
April 29, 2019
The Decree 806, to give effect to Law No 19.723 dated 21 December 2018, was adopted by the Ministry of Public Health on 29 April 2019. This regulation will enter […]
March 11, 2019
As part of continuing efforts to promote healthy living and discourage tobacco consumption, the Parliament of Singapore passed the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) (Amendment) Bill on 11 February […]
March 10, 2019
Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority has adopted specific policies vis a vis tobacco manufacturers
Article 5.3 of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) states that “in setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to […]
March 5, 2019
The law No 7151 on healthcare, amending some sections of the country’s 1996 tobacco control act (No 4207), was officially gazetted and entered into force on 5 December 2018. The […]
February 13, 2019
The Parliament of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, on 5 February 2019, passed unanimously a new public health legislation on food and medicine administration. The new law covers tobacco […]
February 4, 2019
On 24 January 2019, the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko issued Decree No. 2 to amend two previous decrees in 2002 and 2007, regulating the production, trade […]
January 31, 2019
On 29 January 2019, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination of Pakistan issued a Notification requiring the use of new pictorial health warning on cigarette packs from […]
January 31, 2019
The Tobacco Control Amendment Act (No.4) was passed in Samoa on 31 January 2019. This new act brings amendments to the Tobacco Control Act of 2008 by introducing a few […]
January 28, 2019
As an effort to discourage tobacco consumption and reduce devastating health consequences, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan has approved new tobacco excise tax rates through the […]
December 24, 2018
On 24 December 2018, Niue’s Parliament adopted a first ever comprehensive tobacco control legislation aiming to “protect the health of the people of Niue from the diseases caused by tobacco […]
December 19, 2018
On 14 December, 2018, a new regulation on plain cigarette packaging in Thailand was officially gazetted, making Thailand the first country in Asia and the first middle-income country to adopt […]
December 3, 2018
On 19 November 2018, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Colombia, in collaboration with Universidad del Valle, presented new youth smoking prevalence statistics from the first ever Global […]
November 26, 2018
New smoking prevalence statistics from the latest Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) in Ukraine were released on 15 November 2018, the International No Smoking Day. The new data were presented […]
October 18, 2018
On 6 August 2018, the President of Uruguay Tabaré Vázquez issued an executive decree requiring tobacco product plain packaging and single presentation. As a global leader in tobacco control, Uruguay […]
September 11, 2018
Since 6 September 2018, all tobacco products sold in Timor-Leste are required to display one of the six official combined text and pictorial health warnings covering 85% of the front […]
September 1, 2018
The price of cigarettes raised on 1 September 2018, following an increase of excise taxes by 12.5%. The Government of Australia, in the 2016-17 Budget had foreseen that a series […]
September 1, 2018
The Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Second Amendment Rules were published in India in April 2018. This regulation establishes the new round of pictorial health warnings to […]
August 31, 2018
New tobacco prevalence data were issued at the launching of a new Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh. The findings indicate […]
August 9, 2018
On Monday, 6 August 2018, the Plain Packaging Decree was signed by President Tabaré Vázquez to advance the implementation of the neutral or generic labelling of cigarette boxes. Uruguay is […]
June 28, 2018
On Monday 28 May 2018, the French Solidarities and Health Minister Agnès Buzyn reconfirmed the Government’s strong commitment to tackling the tobacco pandemic at national level. During a press conference […]
June 26, 2018
Every year 30 billion cigarette butts are estimated to be disposed in France, with 40% of them ending up on beaches, in forests, rivers and seashores. Moreover, evidence shows that […]
June 19, 2018
In a landmark case, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ordered the Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) to pay Lalitha Padmini Fernando a sum of R.s. 400,000 to compensate her for […]
June 18, 2018
On 11 April 2018, the Government of the Republic of the Congo adopted three decrees to operationalize implementation of the tobacco control act of 2012. The new decrees will help […]
February 20, 2018
February 2018 – Singapore is implementing an immediate increase in tobacco excise duty of 10%. The change was announced by Singapore’s Finance Minister, Heng Swee Keat, earlier the same day […]
December 29, 2017
Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services and Regulations issued, on 19 December 2017, its order requiring an increase in the size of pictorial health warnings on cigarette packaging to 50%. […]
December 15, 2017
On 7 November 2017, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the draft law № 6776-д “On amendments to the Tax Code concerning balancing of the budget revenues in 2018”. This law, […]
December 15, 2017
Brazil requires a text message on the front 30% of cigarette packages, and a pictorial warning on 100% of the back of the package. The country has finalized its fourth round […]
November 29, 2017
On 28 November 2017, Catherine Byrne (Minister of State) and Dr Tony Holohan (Chief Medical Officer) signed an open letter to the Taoiseach, all Government Ministers and all heads (Secretaries […]
October 5, 2017
The Tongan Ministry of Health launched a 6 weeks campaign called Tuku Ifi Leva (Quit Smoking Now) starting on 5 October 2017. The graphic campaign showing the risks of tobacco use including cancers […]
September 25, 2017
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), in reference to the Excise Duty Act 2016 and the “Excise Duty (Excisable Goods Management System) Regulations, 2017”, calls upon manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers […]
September 14, 2017
After seven years of planning and intense work of the Ministry of Health, the National Assembly of Benin has unanimously adopted, on 14 September 2017, a new tobacco control law […]
August 18, 2017
Inter-Country Meeting on Smokeless Tobacco Policy was organized by the WHO FCTC Global Knowledge Hub on Smokeless Tobacco, NICPR from 16 to 18 August in New Delhi. This meeting facilitated […]
August 1, 2017
Luxembourg has recently banned e-cigarettes from public spaces in the same way as conventional smoking, and imposed tighter restrictions on smoking around children. Cigarettes and electronic cigarettes vaping are not […]
July 27, 2017
The Parliament of Guyana passed the Tobacco Control Bill on 27 July and made a big step forward fighting the devastating effects of tobacco and implementing policies in accordance with […]
July 14, 2017
Hungary is now officially the 5th Party to implement plain packaging, as an advanced measure under Article 11 of the Convention. From 20 August 2016 all cigarette packages need to […]