Qatar issued Law no. 10 of 2016 which repeals Law no. 20 of 2002. The new law entered into force on October 11, 2016 and provides a broader ban on advertisements and promotional activities for cigarettes or tobacco and its derivatives.
Article 7 of the law stipulates that it is prohibited to import, distribute, promote, sell and/or manufacture electronic cigarettes and smoking articles look-alikes. The law defines smoking articles look-alikes as products that do not contain tobacco, but are packaged to resemble tobacco products. This includes, but is not limited to, candies and toys for children that resemble tobacco products, its derivatives and the ways it is administered, as outlined in Article 1 of the law.
It is worth noting that the new Law does not address the use of tobacco brands in relation to non-tobacco products. Thus, the use of tobacco brands on non-tobacco products would be viewed as illegal only if said non-tobacco products are within the definition of the smoking articles look-alike, that is, they are packaged to look like tobacco products.
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