Analysis
Article 12 of the Tobacco Control Act requires pack warnings (pictures or text or both) to be displayed on at least 50% of the main display areas in Creole, English, or French.
Currently, the Tobacco (Health Warnings and Messages) Regulations, 2015 prescribe graphic health warnings to be displayed on product packaging “in the format and proportion of the image and text as set out in the Schedule.” Although the regulations do not specify the size, it is assumed that the warnings must cover 50% of the main display areas (a minimum of 50% is required under the law).
The Schedule to the Tobacco (Health Warnings and Messages) Regulations, 2015 contains 20 total warnings - eight warnings in English, eight warnings in French, and four warnings in Creole. The regulations do not specify a rotation period; instead, they permit the manufacturer, importer, supplier, or distributor to choose any of the pictures set out in the Schedule. Therefore, under this set of warnings, rotation does not appear to be required.
The law and regulations align with FCTC Art. 11 and the FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines with respect to the health warnings. The law and regulations could be improved by specifying the exact size of the health warnings and the manner in which the warnings are to rotate under the current set.
Neither the law nor the regulations distinguish between health warnings to be displayed on smoked tobacco products versus smokeless tobacco products. The content of the health warnings contained in the regulations is specific to smoked tobacco products. To fully align with FCTC Art. 11 and FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines para. 36, the content of the text messages should be specific to smokeless tobacco for smokeless tobacco product packaging.
