Jordan

The law prohibits smoking in "public places," which by definition includes “hospitals, health centers, schools, cinemas, theatres, public libraries, museums, governmental and non-governmental public premises, means of transportation, arrivals and departures halls at airports, enclosed stadiums, lecture-halls and any other place deemed by the Minister as public, provided that his decision is published in the Gazette.” While this definition captures many types of workplaces, it does not include all types of workplaces; for example, private office space and factories are not covered under the definition. Therefore, the regulatory status code “Smoking is Restricted” is assigned.

The law also authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in “public places,” although the Minister has not done so as of the date of this review.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should make clear that smoking is prohibited in all indoor workplaces. In addition, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.” Further, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “workplace” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “hospitals, health centers, schools, cinemas, theatres, public libraries, museums, governmental and non-governmental public premises, means of transportation, arrivals and departures halls at airports, enclosed stadiums, lecture-halls and any other place deemed by the Minister as public, provided that his decision is published in the Gazette.” This definition fails to include all public places. For example, universities, banks, and markets are not on the list. Further, this definition originally did not including shops and restaurants. However, the Minister of Health has issued decrees regarding shops and restaurants under the scope of this provision. Because the smoking ban fails to cover all public places the regulatory status code “Smoking is Restricted” is given.

In practice, implementation and enforcement of the law have been inconsistent. Further, the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, although the Minister has not done so as of the date of this review.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should make clear that smoking is prohibited in all indoor public places. In addition, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.” Further, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The Public Health Law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “means of transportation.” In addition, the Public Transport Law prohibits smoking by drivers and passengers in a “passenger vehicle.” Similarly, the Traffic Law prohibits smoking in a public passenger transport vehicle. Because the law prohibits smoking in all public transport, the regulatory status code “100% Smoke Free” is given.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines with respect to smoking in public transport.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “governmental public premises.” Although most governmental facilities fall into the category of “governmental public premises,” some governmental facilities may not be open to the public and therefore the ban does not apply. Because “governmental public premises” is not currently interpreted or enforced as applying to all government facilities, the regulatory status code “Smoking is Restricted” is assigned. In addition, the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in “public places,” although the Minister has not done so as of the date of this review.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should make clear that smoking is prohibited in all indoor governmental facilities. In addition, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.” Finally, to clarify the scope of the ban on smoking in public places and to aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

Public Health Law No. 47 of 2008 prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “hospitals, health centers, schools, cinemas, theatres, public libraries, museums, governmental and non-governmental public premises, means of transportation, arrivals and departures halls at airports, enclosed stadiums, lecture-halls and any other place deemed by the Minister as public, provided that his decision is published in the Gazette.” While this definition captures many types of workplaces, it does not include all types of workplaces; for example, private office space and factories are not covered under the definition. Therefore, the regulatory status code “Smoking is Restricted” is assigned.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should make clear that smoking is prohibited in all indoor workplaces, including private offices. In addition, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.” Further, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “workplace” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes hospitals and health centers. Although the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, the Minister has not done so with the regard to hospitals as of the date of this review. Therefore, because the law prohibits smoking in hospitals, the regulatory status code “100% Smoke Free” is given.

Although hospitals are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes hospitals and health centers. Although the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, the Minister has not done so with regard to hospitals and health centers as of the date of this review. Therefore, because the law prohibits smoking in health centers, which is includes residential healthcare facilities, the regulatory status code “100% Smoke Free” is given.

Although public areas of residential healthcare facilities are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” and in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes hospitals and health centers. Although the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, the Minister has not done so with respect to non-residential healthcare facilities as of the date of this review. Therefore, because the law prohibits smoking in health centers, which is interpreted as including non-residential healthcare facilities, the regulatory status code “100 % Smoke Free” is given.

Although non-residential healthcare facilities are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” and in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in all “nurseries and kindergartens in both public and private sectors.” This is interpreted as including all childcare facilities and preschools. Unlike other public places, the law does not authorize the Ministry of Health to allow designated smoking areas in childcare facilities and preschools.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines with respect to smoking in childcare facilities and preschools.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “schools.” Although the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, the Minister has not done so with respect to schools as of the date of this review. In addition, under the Juvenile Conduct Law, minors are prohibited from smoking anywhere.

Although schools are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “schools.” The term “schools,” as used in the legislation, refers to institutions of primary and secondary education but does not include universities, community colleges (two-year diploma degrees) or vocational facilities. Therefore, universities and vocational facilities are not covered under the ban and the regulatory status code “Smoking is Not Restricted” is given.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should prohibit smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces, including universities and vocational facilities. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” and in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” the definition of which includes a list of places, “non-governmental places” and “any other place deemed by the Minister as public, provided that his decision is published in the Gazette.” “Shops” are considered non-governmental places and the Minister of Health issued a letter to the General Manager of the Amman Mall requesting him to implement the smoking ban in the mall. Other shops are not mentioned in this letter; however, the phrase “non-governmental places” is interpreted to mean all shops and therefore the regulatory status code “100% Smoke Free” is given.

Although shops are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “cinemas, theatres, public libraries, museums.” This is interpreted as covering all cultural facilities. Although the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, the Minister has not done so with respect to cultural facilities as of the date of this review. Therefore, smoking is prohibited in cultural facilities.

Although cultural facilities are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “enclosed stadiums.” Although the law authorizes the Minister to allow designated smoking areas in public places, the Minister has not done so with respect to enclosed stadiums as of the date of this review. Therefore, smoking is prohibited in enclosed stadiums/arenas.

Although enclosed stadiums/arenas are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” the definition of which includes a list of places, “non-governmental” places and “any other place deemed by the Minister as public, provided that his decision is published in the Gazette.” The phrase “non-governmental places” is interpreted to include restaurants. The Ministry of Health has issued letters to the Tourist Restaurant Association requiring that at least 50% of seats in tourist restaurants be reserved for non-smokers. The Ministry of Health has also issued a letter to the Restaurant Association requiring fast food restaurants to be 100% smoke free.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should prohibit smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces, including all parts of all restaurants with no designated smoking areas. The law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” the definition of which includes a list of places and “any other place deemed by the Minister as public, provided that his decision is published in the Gazette.” “Bars, pubs and nightclubs” are not included in the list of places in the definition of “public places.” Therefore, the regulatory status code “Smoking is Not Restricted” is given for this category.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should prohibit smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces, including bars, pubs and nightclubs. The law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

Casinos are not permitted in Jordan.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” the definition of which includes a list of places and “any other place deemed by the Minister as public, provided that his decision is published in the Gazette.” “Hotels” are not included in the list of places in the definition of “public places.” Therefore, the regulatory status code “Smoking is Not Restricted” is given for this category.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should prohibit smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces, including public areas of hotels. The law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” the definition of which includes a list of places and “any other place deemed by the Minister as public, provided that his decision is published in the Gazette.” “Hotels” are not included in the list of places in the definition of “public places.” Therefore, the regulatory status code “Smoking is Not Restricted” is given for this category. However, hotels may have their own policies about smoking in guest rooms and reserve some rooms as non-smoking.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should prohibit smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces, including hotel guest rooms. The law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” and “workplace” in accordance with the definitions contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “governmental public premises.” Arguably, public areas of prisons could be considered “governmental public premises.” However, the law is not interpreted or implemented in this way, and currently smoking is not restricted in public areas of prisons.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should prohibit smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces, including in public areas of prisons. The law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in public places. In addition, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.

The Public Health Law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “means of transportation.” In addition, the Public Transport Law prohibits smoking in a passenger vehicle. Similarly, the Traffic Law prohibits smoking in a public passenger transport vehicle. “Means of transport” includes transport by land or wheeled transport. Therefore, smoking is prohibited in trains, buses and other shared ground transportation.

The law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, although the Minister has not done so with respect to public transport as the date of this review.

Although enclosed trains, buses and other shared ground transportation are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.”

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “means of transportation.” In addition, the Public Transport Law prohibits smoking in a passenger vehicle. Similarly, the Traffic Law prohibits smoking in a public passenger transport vehicle. “Means of transport” includes transport by land or wheeled transport. Therefore, smoking is prohibited in taxis.

Further, the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, although the Minister has not done so with regard to taxis as of the date of this review.

Although taxis are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.”

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “means of transportation.” In addition, the Public Transport Law prohibits smoking in a passenger vehicle. “Means of transport” includes transport by air. In addition, Royal Jordanian Air has banned smoking on all flights since 2001. Therefore, smoking is prohibited in commercial aircraft.

Further, the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, although the Minister has not done so with respect to commercial aircraft.

Although commercial aircraft are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.”

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “means of transportation.” In addition, the Public Transport Law prohibits smoking in a passenger vehicle. “Means of transport” includes transport by sea. Therefore, smoking is prohibited in commercial watercraft.

Further, the law authorizes the Minister of Health to allow designated smoking areas in public places, although the Minister has not done so with respect to commercial watercraft as of the date of this review.

Although commercial watercraft are currently smoke free under the law, to fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.”

The law prohibits smoking in “public places,” which by definition includes “arrivals and departures halls at airports.” The Ministry of Health issued a letter to the Airport Authority requesting the airport authority to provide designated smoking areas for passengers and personnel in international airports. Therefore, smoking is restricted but not prohibited in airports. Other transport facilities are not mentioned in the law, and therefore smoking is not restricted in these facilities.

To align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should prohibit smoking in all public transport facilities. In addition, the law should not authorize the Minister to permit designated smoking areas in “public places.” Further, to clarify the scope of the ban and aid in enforcement, the law should provide a definition of “public place” in accordance with the definition contained in the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines.