Last updated: June 30, 2020
Duties / Penalties
Post signs
(e.g., seizure of the product, publication of the violation/violator)
The law requires that signs reading “Smoking prohibited” or “Non-smoking area” be posted by the operator or person in charge of places where smoking is prohibited. Further specifications are included in Administrative Order No. 18416.
Violations of this provision are subject to a fine of 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA; and prohibition of any activity that might give rise to the continuation of the violation.
The law aligns with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines with respect to the duty to post signs. To more fully align, the law should provide for increasing fines for repeated violations.
Remove ashtrays
(e.g., seizure of the product, publication of the violation/violator)
The law requires that the person in charge of a place where smoking is prohibited remove all ashtrays.
Violations of this provision are subject to a fine of 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA; and prohibition of any activity that might give rise to the continuation of the violation.
To fully align with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines, the law should specify the size of posted signs, and should require that the signage provide a way to report violations. The law should also provide for increasing fines for repeated violations.
Steps to require a person to stop smoking (e.g., warn, discontinue service, call authorities)
(e.g., seizure of the product, publication of the violation/violator)
The law requires employers and supervisors to take “all measures to see to it that the law is obeyed.” This is interpreted as requiring a person to stop smoking. An employer or supervisor who does not comply with this duty is subject to a fine of 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA. Other penalties include prohibition of any activity that may give rise to a continued violation and the suspension of tobacco sales for six months to one year.
The law also includes a sanction for corporate entities (other than the State) on whose account or for whose benefit, an infraction has been committed. They are to be punished by a fine of an amount equal to five times that incurred by natural persons.
They may be sentenced to one or several of the following punishments: - Dissolution, if they were created for the purpose of committing the incriminated acts, - Definitive or temporary closing for a period ranging from six months to one year for the establishments, or for one of the company’s establishments that served to commit the incriminated acts (…) - The posting of the judgment handed down or dissemination thereof in the print press, or by any means of audiovisual communication, at the expense of the juridical person in question. The law aligns with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines with respect to a duty to take steps to require a person to stop smoking.
Not to smoke where prohibited
The law aligns with FCTC Art. 8 and the FCTC Art. 8 Guidelines in that it imposes a duty on smokers not to smoke where prohibited.
Anyone who violates the ban on smoking in public places or places open to the public shall be subject to a punishment of a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 FCFA.
