LATEST ALERTS
28th February 2025
- Bahrain: The Shura Council of Bahrain is set to discuss on Sunday, 2nd March, the Services Committee’s report on a draft law amending Article 20 of the law on combating smoking and tobacco (law 8/2009). The draft law aims to combat the use of herbal and non-herbal materials as an alternative to smoking tobacco, as well as tighten the penalties stipulated in law 8/2009, particularly with regard to the prohibition of importing, distributing or selling any herbal or non-herbal materials for the purpose of using them as an alternatives to smoking tobacco, even if they do not contain nicotine. The proposed bill would amend the penalty stipulated in Article 20 for violating Article 11 of law 8/2009, whereby the amended penalty would be imprisonment for a maximum period of one year, and a fine of between BHD1,000 ($2,660) and BHD100,000 ($266,000). Moreover, the draft law would introduce an amendment related to the consequences of a conviction of an infraction, enabling the court to order the closure of the store in question for a maximum period of three months or the confiscation of the materials used.
28th February 2025
- Middle East: The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean posted that while smoking rates in the region are declining, there is still significant room for improvement. The WHO urged its Eastern Mediterranean Region member states to strengthen tobacco control measures, including smoking bans in public places, prominent health warnings, and enhanced support services for smoking cessation. Notably, the thread makes no reference to novel tobacco products such as e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products.
25th February 2025
- Bahrain: The House of Representatives Public Utilities and Environment Committee approved a motion urging the government to step up the enforcement of ministerial resolution 83/2006, which regulates restaurants, cafés and similar establishments serving tobacco products, press reports. The motion calls for enforcing the resolution, banning new shisha cafés near residential areas, schools and mosques, and addressing non-compliant establishments.
18th February 2025
- Gulf Cooperation Council: The Technical Committee for Tobacco Products of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standardization Organization (GSO) has preliminarily approved a standard introducing flavour restrictions, additional requirements for devices and batteries, common health warnings, and standardised packaging regulations across all GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – for both vaping and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The standard still requires final approval, and the text of the proposed regulation is currently unavailable. We are actively engaging with the relevant authorities to obtain more detailed information.
5th November 2024
- Kuwait: The International Conference on Tobacco Control organised by the Ministry of Health has recommended that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries establish national observatories to monitor tobacco industry activities and align with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards on tobacco control. Additionally, the conference advocated for regulating novel emerging products in the region, such as nicotine pouches, and recommended increasing excise taxes on tobacco.
20th June 2024
- Bahrain: The government referred an amendment to the Law on Tobacco and Smoking Control to the parliament, press reports. The new amendment proposes to increase the sanctions imposed on importing, distributing or selling oral (non-smoked) tobacco products to imprisonment for a maximum period of one year and a maximum fine of BHD100,000 ($266,000). Currently, not complying with the ban on oral tobacco can lead to a minimum fine of BHD2,000 ($5,300) and a maximum of BHD5,000 ($13,300).
30th April 2024
- Bahrain: The minister of industry and commerce has issued decision 34/2024, authorising the Ministry of Health to monitor the implementation of the Electronic Nicotine Products standards for one year. The Ministry of Health was mandated in March 2023 to monitor the implementation for a period of one year under decision 26/2023.
7th December 2023
- Bahrain: The National Bureau of Revenue has announced the imminent implementation of the final phase of the distinctive mark system (digital stamp). Under decision 3/2023, from 24th December 2023 the possession, trade, supply and sale of heated tobacco products (HTPs) without a digital stamp will be prohibited.
20th March 2023
- Bahrain: On 19th March, the minister of industry and commerce issued Decision No.26/2023, authorising the Ministry of Health to monitor the implementation of the Electronic Nicotine Products standards for a period of one year. Originally, Decision No.121/2021 mandated the Ministry of Health to monitor the implementation for six months.
13th February 2023
- Bahrain: The National Bureau of Revenue has released Decision No. 3/2023, which states that all available-for-sale heated tobacco products must be marked with a digital stamp in accordance with Decision No. 3/2022. The digital stamps will be available to importers and manufacturers online from 14th May; from 17th September, no product will be imported without a valid and activated digital stamp. The possession, trade, supply and sale of heated tobacco products without a digital stamp will be prohibited from 24th December 2023.
18th October 2022
- Bahrain: The Bahraini Testing and Metrology Directorate has confirmed to TobaccoIntelligence that according to the Technical Regulation of Electronic Nicotine Products it is mandatory to include a production code (batch number) on all packaging. No specific format has been envisaged and importers are free to place the batch number anywhere on the package.
5th September 2022
- Bahrain: The National Bureau for Revenue announced yesterday that from 16th October all cigarettes available for sale must be marked with distinctive digital stamps as laid down by decree No. 3/2022, issued in May. From that date any cigarettes not having the digital stamp will either be destroyed or confiscated. The system is to be extended later to include other tobacco products such as heated tobacco, hookahs and e-cigarettes.
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