WHO snags Kosovo in its tobacco-control net
The World Health organization announced it had snared Kosovo in its ever-growing tobacco-control net. The country has adopted a comprehensive tobacco control law in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The measures include:
- 100 percent smoke-free indoor public places, workplaces, and public transportation, as well as specified outdoor areas, with some minor exceptions;
- comprehensive bans on tobacco advertizing, promotion, and sponsorship, including a ban on retail tobacco product displays;
- graphic health warnings on both sides of the pack;
- ban on misleading packaging, including descriptors such as ‘light’ and ‘low’;
- prohibition on sales to and by minors;
- ban on sales in health, education, and athletic facilities;
- granting power to the Ministry of Health authority to ban ingredients;
- constituents and emissions limits with reporting requirements for manufacturers; and
- cessation and education measures, include 45 minutes each month of mandatory programming on public radio and television.
Additionally, among the range of measures is the strongest protection against tobacco industry interference, based on Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC.
