Solomon Islands

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify domestic TV and radio in this section, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken, including on film, video recording or other medium or broadcast, telecast, electronic transmission . . . used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”.

Read together, the general ban and the definition indicate that the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising on domestic TV and radio.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify domestic newspapers and magazines, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken . . . used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”.

Read together, the general ban and the definition indicate that the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising in domestic newspapers and magazines.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify other domestic print media, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken . . . used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”.

Read together, the general ban and the definition indicate that the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising via domestic print media.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”.

Generally, this ban does not apply to imported newspapers, magazines, books, film, video or data message originating outside of Solomon Islands. However, the law does prohibit tobacco advertising in imported media if the “principal purpose” of the media is the “promotion of tobacco products”, the media is intended for sale “primarily in Solomon Islands”, or the message of the media is “targeted primarily at an audience in Solomon Islands”.

Thus, the regulatory status “Some Restrictions” is given.

The law partially aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to international TV and radio. However, to fully align, the law should ban all tobacco advertising in international TV and radio originating outside the country, without exception.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”.

Generally, this ban does not apply to imported newspapers, magazines, books, film, video or data message originating outside of Solomon Islands. However, the law does prohibit tobacco advertising in imported media if the “principal purpose” of the media is the “promotion of tobacco products”, the media is intended for sale “primarily in Solomon Islands”, or the message of the media is “targeted primarily at an audience in Solomon Islands”.

Thus, the regulatory status “Some Restrictions” is given.

The law partially aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to international newspapers and magazines. To fully align, the law should ban all tobacco advertising in international newspapers and magazines originating outside the country, without exception.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify internet communications in this section, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken, including . . . electronic transmission … used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”.

Read together, the general ban and the definition indicate that the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising on internet communications.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify billboards and posters in this section, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken … used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”. (When the Act originally went into effect on May 31, 2012, there was a 12-month grace period granted for tobacco product advertisements “in the open air” that were erected prior to the commencement of the Act.)

Read together, the general ban and the definition indicate that the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to outdoor tobacco advertising.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify advertising and promotion at points of sale, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken . . . used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”.

Read together, the general ban and the definition indicate that the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising and promotion at points of sale.

Notwithstanding Art. 4, Art. 5(1)(a) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 specifically permits retailers to “expose tobacco products for sale”. In addition, the Tobacco Control Regulations 2013 specifically require that “the front principal display is the most visible part of the package to the public in places where tobacco products are offered for sale.”

The law does not align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines. In order to do so, the law should ban product displays at points of sale.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify conventional mail, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken . . . used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”. As tobacco advertising through conventional mail necessarily involves advertising on printed matter, tobacco advertising through conventional mail is banned.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising and promotion through conventional mail.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify communications by telephone and cellular phone in this section, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken, including . . . electronic transmission . . . used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”. Electronic transmission includes telephones and cellular phones, and therefore tobacco advertising and promotion by telephone and cellular phone is banned.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising by way of telephone and cellular phone.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Although it does not specifically identify brand marking, the general ban is interpreted to implicitly cover it. The definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any word, whether written, printed or spoken . . . or any pictorial representation . . . used to encourage the use or . . . promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”.

Therefore, brand marking is banned, and the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines in this regard.

The Tobacco Control Act 2010 prohibits the distribution of free tobacco products, and prohibits providing any tobacco product to any person for the purpose of their subsequent free distribution.

The law aligns FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to free distribution of tobacco products.

Article 7(2) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 explicitly prohibits promotions with a tobacco product purchase, including to “offer any gift or cash rebate or the right to participate in any contest, lottery or game” to the purchaser.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to promotions with a tobacco product purchase.

Article 7(2) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 explicitly prohibits competitions with a tobacco product purchase, including to “offer any gift or cash rebate or the right to participate in any contest, lottery or game” to the purchaser. However, the law specifies a “purchaser” and does not cover competitions associated with tobacco if no purchase has been made.

The law partially aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to competitions associated with tobacco products in that it covers competitions when there is a purchase. In order to fully align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit competitions both when there is a purchase and when there is not.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. Article 2 of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 defines “tobacco product advertisement” as “any word, whether written, printed or spoken, including on film, video recording or other medium or broadcast, telecast, electronic transmission, computer disk or other data message or any pictorial representation, design or device used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”. The definition is broad enough to cover any direct one-on-one marketing pitches because it refers to spoken word.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to direct person-to-person targeting of individuals.

The Tobacco Control Act 2010 prohibits the display of tobacco trademarks on products other than tobacco products, and prohibits the use of tobacco trademarks “for the purpose of advertising any product other than a tobacco product or the advertising of any organisation, service, activity or event”.

Therefore, brand stretching is prohibited. The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to brand stretching.

The law does not address reverse brand stretching. Therefore, the law is interpreted as allowing reverse brand stretching.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit reverse brand stretching.

The law does not address toys that resemble tobacco products. Therefore, the law is interpreted as allowing the sale of toys that resemble tobacco products.

The law does not align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines. In order to do so, the law should prohibit the sale of toys that resemble tobacco products.

The law does not address candy that resembles tobacco products. Therefore, the law is interpreted as allowing the sale of candy that resembles tobacco products.

The law does not align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines. In order to do so, the law should specifically prohibit the sale of candy that resembles tobacco products.

Article 7(2) of the law prohibits any person from offering any “gift or cash rebate” to a purchaser. Article 7(3) states that Art. 7 does not apply to “trade discounts or rebates given in the course of normal business practices … between distributors and retailers”. This provision is interpreted to allow retailer incentive programs.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should make clear that all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion are prohibited, including retailer incentive programs.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”. In addition, the definition of “tobacco product advertisement” contained in Art. 2 specifically includes “any pictorial representation . . . used to encourage the use or to notify the availability or promote the sale of any tobacco product or to promote smoking behaviour”.

The law goes on to provide an exception for “depiction of or reference to a tobacco product or trademark made in any artistic, literary, scientific, educational or entertainment production, performance, writing or any other work” but only if the depiction or reference is not “made in exchange for or in expectation of remuneration, reward or emolument of any sort or other consideration (whether direct or indirect) from a distributor or retailer or any of its agents.” Thus, unpaid depiction is exempted from the ban on tobacco advertising, but paid placement is not.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to paid placement.

Article 4(1) of the Tobacco Control Act 2010 provides a general ban on advertising, prohibiting “any tobacco product advertisement in the Solomon Islands”.

However, the law specifically states that Art. 4(1) does not apply to “a tobacco product advertisement that is an accidental or incidental accompaniment to a film or video” or to “depiction of or reference to a tobacco product or trademark in any artistic, literary, scientific, educational or entertainment production, performance, writing or any other work, unless . . . made in exchange for . . . remuneration, reward. . . . ” These provisions are interpreted as allowing unpaid (i.e., incidental) depiction of tobacco products or use in media.

The law does not align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to unpaid depiction. To align, the law should specifically prohibit unpaid depiction of tobacco use or tobacco products in media that does not serve a legitimate purpose.

The law prohibits the use of brand names, trademarks or a distributor’s name “in representation to the public that promotes any organisation, activity or event . . . or acknowledges the financial or other contributions made . . . toward such an organisation, activity or event”. However, this article applies to representations to the public (i.e., publicity of sponsorship) and not the underlying financial sponsorship itself. Thus, the law is interpreted as allowing tobacco sponsorship.

The law does not align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines. To do so, the law should prohibit all tobacco industry sponsorship, regardless of whether the activity or event is associated with or has the aim of promoting tobacco products.

The law prohibits the use of brand names, trademarks or a distributor’s name “in representation to the public that promotes any organisation, activity or event . . . or acknowledges the financial or other contributions made . . . toward such an organisation, activity or event”. The language of this section specifically applies to the use of brand names and trademarks “in representation to the public”.

However, this article does not apply to any “organisation, activity or event” that is not associated with tobacco products or aimed at the promotion of tobacco products. This exception presumably permits publicity of tobacco sponsorship and/or financial support for some organizations, activities, and events. Thus, the regulatory status “Some Restrictions” is given.

The law does not align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines. In order to do so, the law should prohibit all tobacco industry sponsorship as well as all publicity of tobacco industry sponsorship.

Misleading labeling is banned under the Tobacco Control Act 2010. This includes any “written term, descriptor, trademark, symbol or sign” that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that a tobacco product is less harmful than other tobacco products. In addition, Art. 12(1) of the Tobacco Control Regulations 2013 bans any package or label from containing any “information or term that is misleading”. Further, Art. 12(2) of the Tobacco Control Regulations 2013 bans any package or label containing any graphics or product package design characteristics “associated with, or likely or intended to be associated with” descriptors, words or terms listed in Art. 12(1).

However, the law does not specifically address false or misleading promotion other than on packaging and labeling. Although the law generally bans advertising and promotion of tobacco products, not all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion are prohibited. Thus, some forms of promotion by means that are false, misleading, or deceptive may be present. As a result, the regulatory status “Some Restrictions” is given.

The law does not align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines. To align, the law should prohibit all forms of promotion that are false, misleading, or deceptive, not just those on product packaging.