Last updated: October 13, 2017
Duties / Penalties
Post signs
The law imposes a duty on a manager, administrator, or proprietor of a non-smoking place to post no-smoking signs. Violators of this provision are subject to "imprisonment of from 15 days to one month, and a fine of from 100,000 GNF to 500,000 GNF, or one of these penalties only."
The law aligns with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines in that it imposes a penalty for failure to post signs. To more fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the drafters of the law should consider imposing increased penalties for repeat violations, and/or other penalties such as license suspension or revocation.
In addition, the law imposes the same penalty on individuals who smoke in smoke free places as businesses that fail to comply with smoke free provisions. To align with the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should impose higher fines and penalties on businesses, which generally have greater resources, in order to deter violations.
Remove ashtrays
The law does not impose a duty to remove ashtrays.
To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should impose a duty on business owners, employers, and/or supervisors to remove ashtrays and impose appropriate penalties for violations.
Steps to require a person to stop smoking (e.g., warn, discontinue service, call authorities)
The law does not impose a duty to take steps to require a person to stop smoking.
To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should impose a duty on business owners, employers, and/or supervisors to take steps to require a person to stop smoking.
Not to smoke where prohibited
The law imposes a duty on individuals not to smoke where prohibited. Violators of this provision are subject to "imprisonment of from 15 days to one month, and a fine of from 100,000 GNF to 500,000 GNF, or one of these penalties only."
The law aligns with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines in that it imposes a penalty for smoking in a no-smoking area. However, the law imposes the same penalty on individuals who smoke in smoke free places as businesses that fail to comply with smoke free provisions. To more fully align with the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should impose higher fines and penalties on businesses, which generally have greater resources, in order to deter violations.
