FBIH: IMPLEMENTATION OF TOBACCO CONTROL AND RESTRICTION LAW BEGINS, FINES WILL BEGIN TO BE CHARGED ONE YEAR FROM START OF IMPLEMENTATION

SARAJEVO, MAY 26 (ONASA) – In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Sunday, May 28, 2023, the Law on the Control and Limited Use of Tobacco, Tobacco and Other Smoking Products will be implemented.
In order to protect and improve the health of the population, as well as to harmonize with the UN Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the Law regulates measures for the prohibition and restriction of the use of tobacco, tobacco and other smoking products, the prohibition of their advertising, promotion and sponsorship, preventing access by minors to products, the composition of tobacco and other smoking products, mandatory labels on packages, suppression of harmful consequences, preventive measures, establishment of the Federal Commission for the control of the use of tobacco, tobacco and other smoking products and supervision of the implementation of the law.
The Federal Ministry of Health emphasizes that Article 41 of the Act establishes the obligation to comply with the provisions of this Act, in such a way that the deadlines are determined differently depending on the activity.
So, for example, it is prescribed that the obligations for natural persons come into force on the date of application of this law.
Institutions, companies and other legal entities are obliged to harmonize their acts with the provisions of this law within six months from the beginning of the application of the law, while the obligation is for legal entities, in whose facilities there are exemptions from the smoking ban (such as departments for the protection of mental health in healthcare institutions, catering establishments and others, defined in Article 7 of the Law), to harmonize their work with the provisions of this Law within six months from the date of entry into force of the by-laws adopted on the basis of the Law (Regulation on conditions for special premises for smoking in the sense of exceptions to the smoking ban).
The preparation of the Proposed Ordinance on the conditions for special smoking rooms in terms of exceptions to the smoking ban is in its final stage, after which the Proposed Ordinance will be published on the website of the Federal Ministry of Health, so that interested parties can submit comments for consideration.
After the public consultations, the Ordinance will be sent for publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It is important to point out that the fines will start to be collected 12 months after the start of application, that is, from the date of entry into force of the by-laws adopted on the basis of this law, which means that inspection measures in this period will be preventive, with the aim of helping all legal entities to adapt their business according to the law.
We remind you that the law prescribes a ban on smoking in all closed public spaces, the workplace and in public transport, as well as in private means of transport where there are minors.
Article 7 of the aforementioned Act defines exceptions to the smoking ban, such as departments for mental health protection in health institutions, catering facilities, airports (in a special smoking area) and others.
However, as already stated, the application of the mentioned exceptions starts six months from the date of entry into force of the by-law, which is currently in the drafting phase.
They point out that the Law does not prohibit, but rather restricts the use of tobacco, with the aim of protecting and improving public health, as well as creating a healthier environment that promotes healthy choices, given that the cause of three quarters of all deaths in the Federation of BiH are diseases for which one of the factors the risk is precisely smoking.
The text of the law is available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Health: https://fmoh.gov.ba/uploads/files/Zakon%20o%20kontroli%20i%20ogranicenoj%20uprebi%20duhana%20-%20Sl.%20novine%2038_22.pdf.