1 June 2007
Maputo — The Mozambican government's anti-smoking regulations, launched on Thursday, but due to take effect only in December, effectively outlaw all advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
All the public media are banned from advertising tobacco products - which formalises what is already standard practice on Radio Mozambique and Mozambique Television (TVM).
Quite new is a ban on tobacco advertising on the covers of magazines and other publications, and the outlawing of tobacco adverts on billboards, posters, railway and bus stations and any other public spaces.
The tobacco industry itself is banned from boasting about any sponsorship activities. So presumably we will no longer see banners announcing that tobacco companies are financing conferences, seminars or any other activity. The sponsorship itself is not outlawed, but the tobacco companies will no longer be able to make propaganda out of it.
All "deceitful" tobacco advertising, which may induce the purchaser into error, is also banned. This presumably outlaws any association of cigarettes with sex, luxury, cowboys, pleasant landscapes or anything else attractive or healthy.
Nothing must be published, the regulations add, which "create the false impression that any particular tobacco product is less damaging than others". So we can say goodbye to claims that certain brands of cigarettes are "mild" or "low tar".
All cigarette packets must carry "ample, clear, visible and legible" health warnings, in the country's official language, Portuguese, which must occupy at least 30 per cent of the front of the packet and 25 per cent of the back.
The requirement that the warnings must be in Portuguese will make it impossible to import legally most cigarettes made in neighbouring, English speaking countries.
The government clearly intends to use tax policy to cut smoking. The regulations state that "taxes and, when applicable, high prices shall be applied to tobacco products to achieve health goals by tending to reduce tobacco consumption".
The regulations ban smoking in all state institutions, and in any "closed collective or public space" - such as hospitals, schools, libraries, theatres, cinemas and restaurants.
There is a loophole for restaurants, bars, discotheques and the like. They can provide a space for smokers no larger than 25 per cent of their total area, clearly marked as a smoking area, and separated by walls from the non-smoking areas.
The ventilation for such areas must ensure that the smoke is channelled outside the building so that there is no risk of it being inhaled by the non-smokers.
Faced with the costs of building walls, and installing separate air conditioning, many owners of restaurants and bars are likely to draw the conclusion that it will be cheaper to ban smoking on their premises.
Smoking is forbidden on all aircraft and other collective forms of transport, with the exception that operators of passenger trains with more than ten carriages may reserve no more than 25 per cent of the train as a smoking area. If the train has less than ten carriages, only one carriage may be reserved for smokers.
The sale of tobacco products to people under 18 is banned, and any establishment with cigarette vending machines must ensure that they are not operated by minors.
All places that sell cigarettes must display a prominent sign that under-18s may not buy them. In case of doubt, the shop owner or assistant must demand proof that the buyer is over 18.
Furthermore, cigarettes must not be easily accessible on shop or supermarket shelves.
All contraband cigarettes shall be publicly destroyed, and the profits made by anyone smuggling tobacco products shall be seized and revert to the state.
The regulations also envisage education and communication campaigns to ensure that the public is aware of the dangers of smoking, and the benefits of abandoning the habit.
The Ministry of Health is given the task of drawing up programmes to persuade people to give up smoking, to provide counselling to those who wish to give up, and to treat nicotine addiction.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
