(Wam) / 26 December 2012
Imported cigarettes and other tobacco products which do not carry a graphic health warning on packs will be totally banned in the UAE from January 1, 2013, said a Saleh Badri, acting Director-General of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma) announced.
Badri said: “The move was in line with the Cabinet’s approval of a mandatory updated UAE standard on tobacco products that was published in the gazette on November 29, 2011.”
The decision will be executed in cooperation with all competent ministries and authorities nation-wide, he added.
Accordingly, all cigarette packs and other tobacco products in the UAE will be required to have a graphic picture showing the ill effects of smoking, he explained.
The Cabinet’s decision was to take effect on August 9, 2012.
Tobacco companies requested enough time to get rid of imported stocks of the products which already are in the local market and the packets of which do not comply with the graphic warning decision, the Esma official noted.