Tobacco advertisements banned in all forms in Oman

The new decision (43/2018), was issued by H E Dr Abdulmunim bin Mansour bin Said al Hasani, Minister of Information, on March 27.

The decision replaces the text in Article 36 of the Executive Regulations of the Press and Publications Law 25/84 with, it is prohibited to publish advertisements on tobacco products or their derivatives in all media, including print, electronic, audio-visual and any billboards, wherever they exist.

The decision is based on the Publications Law issued by Royal Decree 49/84 and Royal Decree 20/2005 approving the Sultanates accession to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Before 2016, there was no formal ban on tobacco advertisements. It was in April 2016 that the Executive Regulations of the Press and Publications Law were amended to include a ban on placing tobacco products advertisements in print, and audio-visual media, including electronic media for the first time.

Dr Jawad al Lawati, rapporteur at the National Tobacco Control Committee, and an expert in tobacco control, said the earlier decision had overlooked the implementation of ban on point of sale advertisements.

This was exploited by shops while placing tobacco products near cash counters. The inclusion of billboards, wherever they exist, in the new decision aims to plug that loophole. We were contested by the tobacco trading companies in Oman, who came to us arguing over the scope of ban at point of sale areas. So, we had to ask for this change to make it comprehensive.

According to WHO, bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship can reduce tobacco consumption. A comprehensive ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship could reduce tobacco consumption by an average of about seven per cent, with some countries experiencing a decline in consumption of up to 16 per cent, WHO said.

Only 37 countries, representing 15 per cent of the worlds population, have completely banned all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, according to WHO.