The Austrian Parliament has imposed a complete smoking ban in all Austrian restaurants and other food providers and will be enforced beginning on 1 May 2018. Besides that, incentives of a fiscal premium of 30 percent for effected conversion investments are provided if companies switch prior to 1 July 2016. As of May 2016, the smoking ban also includes water pipes, e-cigarettes and traditional tobacco products.
On 28 July 2015, the Parliament of Uganda passed its new Tobacco Control Law after long negotiations and engagements with relevant stakeholders. The law requires 100% smoke-free public places, including a ban of smoking within a distance of 50 meters of any public place. The ban covers shisha, electronic cigarettes and chewing tobacco.
In addition, no sales of tobacco products are permitted within 50 meters of educational and health institutions, cinemas, police stations, prisons or other places where children are cared for.
The Convention Secretariat supported two Iranian officials to undertake a study visit in Singapore at the Cigarette Testing Laboratory of the Health Sciences Authority on 6 to 9 July 2015.
The Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services, the Norwegian Cancer Society, and the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer jointly conducted a workshop on legal issues relating to the implementation of plain (or standardized) tobacco packaging in Europe. The workshop included government officials, WHO FCTC Convention Secretariat and WHO representatives, and NGO and academic experts from Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and the UK.
The GATS Atlas presents tobacco statistics from Global Adult Tobacco Surveys implemented in 22 countries. It is structured following the articles of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the MPOWER framework, covering topics ranging from monitoring and policies, help to quit and protection from second hand smoke to marketing bans, taxation and pricing as well as tracking and tracing of tobacco products.
The Republic of Palau is establishing a new national coordinating mechanism, as required under Article 5.2(a) of the WHO FCTC, with its madate covering, beyong tobacco control, all non-communicable diseases. In an executive order, President Thommy E. Remengesau Jr. announced the creation of a coordinating Committee which shall include representatives from different ministries and agencies and is to co-operate closely with NGOs, the private sector and civil society.
Due to a reform of taxes on tobacco and alcohol products passed in 2012, the Philippines have been able to significantly increase their health budget, allowing them to improve the reach of the country's Universal Health Care Program. Within four years, the coverage increased from 74% to 82%.
The so-called sin tax applies to all alcohol and tobacco products and serves a twofold purpose:
The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and WHO, marked World No-Tobacco Day 2015 by holding a National multi-sectoral consultation on the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. The participants discussed ways to improve India's policies in line with the Protocol and to speed up its ratification.
Bangladeshi State Minister of Health, Zahid Malik, has announced that pictorial health warnings covering 50% of the principal sides of cigarette packages will become mandatory in the South Asian country. The requirements were gazetted March 19, 2015, and will come into force after a 12 month transition period in March 2016.
In a media briefing on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day 2015, the State Minister also announced that the sale of single cigarettes as well as unpacked chewing tobacco products will be prohibited.