Last updated: June 30, 2020
Penalties
Content regulation
Entities that manufacture or illicitly commercialize
The law provides: "Anyone who manufactures tobacco products in violation of manufacturing standards shall be subject to a punishment of five to ten years imprisonment, and a fine of 50,000,000 to 500,000,000 FCFA, or to one of these two penalties."
Corporate entities are punished by a fine amount equal to five times that incurred by natural persons and may be subject to dissolution, permanent or temporary closure from 6 months to one year, confiscation of assets used for the offense, and publication of the judgment against the entity. Natural persons may also be subject to prohibition of the activity that gave rise to the offense and suspension of tobacco product sales from six months to one year.
The law aligns with FCTC Art. 9 and the FCTC Arts. 9 & 10 Partial Guidelines in that it imposes sanctions for content regulation violations.
Disclosure requirement
Manufacturers, importers
Although the law requires disclosure by manufacturers and importers of information on the contents and emissions of their cigarettes, no penalties are specified for violations of these requirements.
To align with FCTC Art. 10 and the FCTC Arts. 9 & 10 Guidelines, the law should impose sanctions for disclosure violations.
