• March 18, 2024

Myanmar industry on a warning

 Myanmar industry on a warning

Cigarette packs in Myanmar will be required carry large graphic warnings from September 1, according to an ElevenMyanmar story.

The Ministry of Health was said to have announced that all cigarettes sold on the local market would have to carry warnings with pictures and messages that covered ‘at least 75 per cent of the surface area of each pack’.

The authorities are allowing six months to clear from the market cigarettes without the new warnings.

Dr Thuzar Chit Tin, director of the Department of Public Health under the Ministry of Health, said that legal action would be taken in respect of any cigarettes that did not carry the new warnings and that were found to be on the market after six months.

In fact, from March 1, cigarette packs without the warnings will be treated as contraband under the new ministry regulation.

Vendors found selling contraband cigarettes will face a fine of between Ks10,000 and Ks30,000, while repeat offenders will be fined between Ks30,000 and Ks100,000, and will be sentenced to a one-year jail term.

According to Ministry of Health 2014 data, about 26.1 percent of Myanmar’s population smokes cigarettes: about 43.8 percent of men and 8.4 percent of women.