It has been 7 years since the warning notices and imagery on tobacco products have remained unchanged since the regulation regarding the sale of such products only being permitted with the inclusion of such warnings and imagery has gone into effect.
Even though this was done to make it harder for those in the tobacco business to generate sales and to indirectly inform smokers of the dangers of smoking via the warning messages, there has always been concerns that the use of the same warning and imagery has not achieved the set goals.
The "Regulation on Packaging and Labeling Tobacco Products" was implemented on World No Tobacco Day, 31st May 2019, with the regulation stating that tobacco products that are imported into and produced in Maldives, and products such as enclosed packets and cartons that are sold in Maldives are to have the warning notices that are shared by the ministry on the outside.
The photos and warnings as per the regulation, which was written up by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), are to be included in the packaging of tobacco products that are made in Maldives and cannot be made without said photos and warning. This also extends to the import of tobacco products, whereby if a product has more than one warning on it, the warning is to be changed once every 12 months, which is stated in the regulation.
Importing tobacco products as per the changes brought about by the HPA is the responsibility of importers and even so, as there has been no announcement for a change to be made, the warnings and imagery that are being used are the initial ones that came to be after the implementation of the regulation.
These include a photo and a warning on the packaging of products that emit cigarette smoke, and a photo and a warning on the packaging of products that do not emit such smoke.
And so, as there is only one warning that has been determined, the warning and imagery has remained unchanged on the products that are imported into Maldives.
The regulation states:
- If there is more than one warning that has been designated by the ministry that needs to be included on the packaging of tobacco products which should include the ministry-approved warning notice (a photo and warning), the warning and photo is to be changed once every 12 months.
The warning notice and photos see various changes in countries where such regulations are observed. And so, the information on the products change constantly. With such measures, importers of tobacco products need to keep changing the packaging.
An official from the HPA stated today that they are discussing changes to the warning notice and to the photo. However, it is unclear as to why they have remained unchanged as of yet.
