Kazakhstan Tightens Controls on Smoking Areas
Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev approved comprehensive tobacco control measures on July 8, 2020.
Under the new legislation, the definition of tobacco products has been expanded to include all nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The law also prohibits the import, production, sale, and distribution of smokeless tobacco products.
The list of smoke-free areas has been expanded to now include bus stations, outdoor playgrounds, underground pedestrian walkways, transit zones, and cars with children. The use of new products is also prohibited in these areas, and the use of hookahs in public places is banned; they are only allowed for use at home.
Fines have increased.
Manufacturers are now required to disclose information about all nicotine-containing products, and the size of graphic health warnings has increased. Tobacco products cannot be displayed at points of sale, and the legal purchasing age has been raised to 21 years old.
