Ban on sale of tobacco to underage children

The minister of economy, Mansour Bteish, issued yesterday a circular No. 5/1 banning tobacco product sales to underage children. The text of the ordinance said, that after receiving complaints about some companies selling tobacco products (cigarettes and hookahs) to kids under 18, in clear violation of the Smoking Law 174 for endangering their health and safety, and in observance of Article 8 of said law banning the provision of any tobacco product to minors, through sales or free delivery, the ministry reminds all involved companies and firms of the necessity of strictly complying with the provisions of the Directorate of Consumer Protection. Accordingly, the ministry shall issue tickets against lawbreakers who will be referred to competent judiciary. Recalling, that Article 15 of the Smoking Law states that any violator of Article 4 of said law be fined with what is equal to two to six times the minimum wage. And in case of repeated violation, the perpetrator will be punished with one to six-month imprisonment and a fine of ten to twenty the minimum wage. (An Nahar, July 12, 2019)