Tough tobacco control law passed in Uganda

Ugandan lawmakers on Tuesday passed a law banning smoking within 100 meters of public buildings, banning the sale and use of shisha tobacco and banning all forms of tobacco, advertising, promotion and sponsorship, according to a story by Deo Walusimbi for the Observer, relayed by the TMA.

Control Bill 2014, which now goes for signature to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, requires graphic health warnings to be included on 75 percent of the surface of cigarette packs and requires packs to be sold with a minimum of 20 pieces.

The bill provides for violations to be punished with fines and/or jail terms.

It authorizes police officers to make arrests without obtaining search warrants, but they cannot destroy confiscated tobacco products, as was allowed for in the original bill.

The bill calls for establishment of a tobacco control committee.