All cigarettes and other tobacco products which do not carry a graphic health warning on packs will be totally banned in the UAE from January 1, the acting director general of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma) Mohammed Saleh Badri has announced.

Badri said:" the move was in line with the Cabinet's approval of a mandatory updated UAE standard on tobacco products that was published in the gazette on 29 November 2011." The decision will be implemented in cooperation with all concerned ministries and authorities nationwide, he added.

Accordingly, all cigarette packs and other tobacco products in the UAE will be required to have a graphic picture showing the ill effects of smoking, he explained. The Cabinet's decision was to take effect on 9 August 2012. Tobacco companies requested enough time to get rid of imported stocks of the products which already are in the local market and packs which do not comply with the graphic warning decision, the Esma official noted.

Source : emirates247.com