Saudi Arabia has strengthened regulations for tobacco product retailers in an effort to protect youngsters and nonsmokers from tobacco marketing and to promote public health.
According to the regulations established by the Saudi Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, all tobacco products and their derivatives must meet the standards authorized by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. Additionally, their stores are prohibited from carrying or displaying products with unclear origins or inaccurate information.
Additional restrictions include selling cigarettes in sealed packaging, limiting sales by the piece, and forbidding price reductions for tobacco or any of its derivatives, as well as providing them for free as samples, gifts, or prizes as part of promotional offers.
Importing, selling, or providing any product that contains tobacco and its derivatives advertisements is also prohibited.
It is also prohibited to sell or display tobacco goods within vending machines that include processed or raw tobacco or any of its derivatives.
Additionally, tobacco stores must post a warning sign for customers using the forms that the National Committee for Combating Tobacco has approved.
The sign must include a warning that smoking and tobacco products are a leading cause of heart disease, lung and oral cancers, and an emotive image of the negative effects of smoking.
A sign prohibiting the sale of tobacco goods to anybody under the age of eighteen must also be posted in the establishment.
