TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL) ACT (smokingcontrol)

TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL)

CHAPTER 315

TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL) ACT

To make provision in respect of the control of tobacco smoking and for

matters connected therewith.

1st April, 1987;

25th April, 1987;

15th June, 1987;

15th September, 1987;

1st January, 1988

ACT XLII of 1986 , as amended by Act IX of 2003 ; and Legal Notice

424 of 2007 .

The short title of this Act is the Tobacco (Smoking

Control) Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"advertising" means any form of commercial communication

with the aim of directly or indirectly promoting tobacco products;

" a u t h o r i s e d o ff i c e r " i n c l u d e s a n y p e r s o n a t t a c h e d t o t h e

Department of Health and duly authorised by the Superintendent to

exercise any power of the Superintendent under this Act and

includes police officers;

"cigarette" includes cut tobacco rolled up in paper, tobacco leaf,

or other material in such form as to be capable of immediate use for

smoking;

"information society services" means services within the

meaning of Article 1(2) of Directive 98/34/EC of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a

procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical

standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society

Services as amended by Directive 98/48 EC (published in the

Official Journal of the European Union under reference OJ L 204,

7.1998 1937 and OJ L 217, 5.8.1998, respectively;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for public health and

includes, to the extent of the authority given, any person authorised

in that behalf for any purpose of this Act;

"person" includes a body corporate established by law;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations under this Act;

"public place" includes any place to which the public have or are

permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise;

"publication" includes any article, of any material whatsoever, on

which are visible any word, picture or other message, whether

printed or otherwise;

"smoking requisites" means requisites for smoking tobacco or

intended mainly for the preparation thereof, and includes cigarette

rolling machines, cigarette paper or other cigarette covering,

TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL)

cigarette filters, cigar or cigarette holders, smoker’s pipes or pipe

cleaners, and other equipment for preparing cigarettes or cigars;

"sponsorship" means any form of public or private contribution

to any event, activity or individual with the aim or direct or indirect

effect of promoting a tobacco product;

"Superintendent" means the Superintendent of Public Health;

"tobacco" includes cigarettes and smoking mixtures intended as a

substitute for tobacco, and includes any tobacco product;

"tobacco product" means products for the purposes of smoking

wholly or partly of tobacco.

3. Nothing in this Act shall apply to tobacco or tobacco

substitutes as are considered to be medicinal preparations or

poisons under the Medical and Kindred Professions Ordinance or

any law substituting that Ordinance.

4. (1) No person shall on television, radio or other

broadcasting medium, or in cinemas, advertise cigarettes, cigars or

other forms of tobacco, tobacco product or smoking requisites.

(2) Radio, television and other programmes broadcast by other

mediums shall not be sponsored by undertakings whose principal

activity is the manufacture or sale of tobacco products.

(3) No tobacco product shall bear the brand name, trade mark,

emblem or other distinctive feature of any other product or service,

unless the tobacco product has been traded under that brand name,

trade mark, emblem or other distinctive feature previously to such

other project.

(4) The brand name, trade mark, emblem and any other

distinguishing feature of the product or service shall be presented

in a manner clearly distinct from that used for the tobacco product.

5. The provisions of the last preceding article shall not apply

to foreign newspapers or magazines imported into Malta and whose

main purpose is not that of advertising the said items or any of

them or related to the business of any such items.

6. (1) Advertising in the press and other printed publications

shall be limited to publications intended exclusively for

professionals in the tobacco trade and to publications which are

printed and published in third countries, where those publications

are not principally intended for the local market.

(2) Other advertising in the press and other printed publications

shall be prohibited.

(3) Advertising that is not permitted in the press and other

printed publications shall not be permitted in information society

services.

6A. (1) The sponsorship of events or activities involving or

taking place in more than one Member State of the European Union

or otherwise having cross-border effect shall be prohibited.

(2)

Any free distribution of tobacco products in the context of

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sponsorship of events as are referred to in subarticle (1), having the

purpose or the direct or indirect effect of promoting such products,

shall be prohibited.

7. (1) It shall be the duty of every owner, licensee, machinist

or person for the time being purporting to act in any such a capacity

in a cinema to ensure that immediately before the beginning of

every film show and immediately on the resumption of the show

after the interval, a health warning acceptable to the Superintendent

is shown on the screen for such time, on each occasion, as shall be

prescribed, as also a notice that smoking is prohibited by law in the

cinema.

(2) It shall be the duty of every person running a broadcasting

station to ensure that before the showing of any film or other

broadcast in which smoking or any of the items mentioned in

article 4, are shown or mentioned, to broadcast immediately before

the film show or other such programme, a health warning as is

referred to in subarticle (1).

8. (1) Each packet of cigarettes and any other tobacco

product imported, sold, distributed or supplied, by way of

compensation or otherwise, shall contain such information

including information as to the ingredients and quantities thereof.

(2) For the purpose of subarticle (1) and for any other purpose

of this Act, the Superintendent may request manufacturers and

importers of cigarettes and tobacco products to submit a list of all

ingredients and the quantities thereof as are used in the

manufacture of such cigarette or tobacco products.

9. The Minister may make regulations for the better carrying

out of the provisions of this Act and for reducing harm resulting

from the consumption of tobacco or tobacco products, and in

particular and without prejudice to the generality of that power,

may make regulations for all or any other following purposes

(a) to prescribe that health warnings as are referred to in

article 10 shall be affixed in prominent positions in

any public place and inside any vehicle licensed or

used for public transport, and that it shall be the duty

of the licensee and the driver, as the case may be, to

comply with such regulation;

(b) to prescribe the maximum permissible tar, nicotine and

other content which cigarettes or other forms of

tobacco or tobacco products may contain, and the

maximum yield of any such substances which may be

obtained therefrom;

(c) to prescribe the conditions under which the sale or

distribution of cigarettes, cigars or other tobacco

products shall be prohibited or restricted;

(d) to prohibit or control any advertisement directly or

indirectly connected with tobacco or with tobacco

smoking;

TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL)

(e) to control the number of cigarettes which may be

offered for sale as any one retail packet and to prohibit

the sale of single cigarettes

Provided that the Minister shall not make

regulations prohibiting the sale of cigarette packets

containing such number of cigarettes as the cigarette

packets as are on sale on the day of the coming into

force of this paragraph;

(f) to control the presentation of cigarettes, cigars and

other tobacco products;

(g) to prohibit or control smoking in any place or part

thereof; and

(h) to prescribe any other matter which may be or is

required to be prescribed by this Act.

10. The licensee of any premises from which cigarettes, cigars,

tobacco or tobacco products or smoking requisites are sold, shall

ensure that a warning notice acceptable to the Superintendent in

respect of wording, format, size and presentation, and indicating

the dangers to health of smoking, and that such notice be

prominently displayed in the premises so as to attract the attention

of customers or other persons on the premises and to be easily seen

and read by them.

11. (1) No cigarettes may be imported, sold, supplied or

distributed by way of compensation or otherwise unless there is

printed on the package or on a label affixed thereon, such

information as the Superintendent may from time to time by

regulations require.

(2) The provisions of subarticle (1) shall not apply to

cigarettes, cigars, tobacco or tobacco products intended for export

and which are not sold or distributed for consumption in Malta.

12. (1) No person shall sell any cigarettes or other forms of

tobacco or tobacco product which do not comply with the

provisions of this Act or of any regulation made hereunder.

(2) No person may sell or authorise the sale of tobacco

products in or from -

(a) hospital grounds, clinics, pharmacies or any other

health care establishments;

(b) school grounds, colleges, or any other educational

institution;

(c) sports or athletic facilities.

13. (1) No person shall sell, supply or distribute by way of

compensation or otherwise, any cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, tobacco

products or smoking requisites to any person who is under the age

of eighteen years, or in any manner induce such person to smoke.

(2) No cigarettes, cigars, tobacco or tobacco product may be

sold from automatic sales machines except where such machines

are kept under supervision.

TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL)

(3) It shall be the responsibility of any person during such time

as he is responsible for or has the control of the premises in which

any such sales machine is kept to ensure that no person under

eighteen years of age shall make use of such machine.

14. (1) No person shall smoke any cigarette, cigar, tobacco or

tobacco product on any public transport, in any cinema, theatre,

hospital, clinic or other health institution, or in any television

studio in any debate, discussion or other programme broadcast

locally for public viewing whether live or pre-recorded; or in any

other place or establishment or part thereof as the Minister may

from time to time prescribe; nor shall any person smoke any such

item in any classroom, corridor, yard or appurtenance of a school,

day home or similar premises used by children under eighteen years

of age.

For the purposes of this subarticle "school" includes a

kindergarten, nursery school or similar premises.

(2) It shall be the duty of the person in charge of any premises

mentioned in subarticle (1), and of the driver and conductor of any

public transport, to ensure that an appropriate sign or notice is put

up in a prominent place or places as the case may require, so as to

attract attention that smoking is prohibited, and it shall also be the

duty of any such person to ensure that no smoking takes place on

the premises or public transport, as the case may be.

15. No person shall import, manufacture, sell, supply or

distribute by way of compensation or otherwise any sweets,

confectionery or toys in the form of cigarettes, cigars or smoker’s

pipe.

16. The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in

derogation of the provisions of any other law prohibiting or

restricting the smoking of tobacco for reasons of food hygiene.

17. Where an offence under or against any provision of this

Act, is committed by a company or an association or other body of

persons or a body corporate established by law, every person who

at the time of the commission of the offence was a director,

manager, secretary or other similar officer of such company,

association or other body of persons or a body corporate

established by law or was purporting to act in any such capacity

shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence unless he proves that

the offence was committed without his knowledge and that he

exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the

offence.

18. (1) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with

any of the provisions of this Act or of any regulations made under

this Act shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

(2) Any person guilty of an offence against this Act or against

any regulations made under this Act, shall, without prejudice to his

liability under any other law, be liable, on a first conviction, to a

fine (multa) of not less than two hundred and thirty-two euro and

ninety-four cents (232.94) and not exceeding one thousand and one

hundred and sixty-four euro and sixty-nine cents (1,164.69), and

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where the act or omission constituting the offence subsists for more

than a day, the Court shall in addition impose a fine (multa) of not

less than twenty-three euro and twenty-nine cents (23.29) and not

more than one hundred and sixteen euro and forty-seven cents

(116.47) for each day in which such act or omission subsists, and

on a second or subsequently conviction, in addition to such fines,

and, at the request of the prosecution, to imprisonment for a term

not exceeding three months, and to suspension of the licence of the

premises or public transport means where the offence took place,

for a period of not less than one week and not exceeding one

month.

19. (1) There shall be a Committee, to be known as the

Committee on Smoking and Health, hereinafter referred to as the

Committee, which shall be composed of

(a) the Superintendent of Public Health, or his rep-

resentative, as Chairman;

(b) the Director of Education or his representative;

(c) the Secretary, Ministry of finance or his rep-

resentative;

(d) the Director of Health Promotion, or his

representative;

(e) five members appointed by the Minister of Health as

follows

(i) a health promotion officer from the Department

of Health;

(ii) one member of a Consumer Association;

(iii) one member from among the voluntary

organization interested in the reduction of the

risks to health resulting from smoking; and

(iv) two other members.

(2) The members mentioned in subarticle (1)(e) shall be

appointed for such term and under such conditions as set out in

their respective letter of appointment.

(3) The Minister shall appoint a public officer to be Secretary

to the Committee.

(4) It shall be the duty of this Committee to advise the Minister

on any measure, including legislation, which may be necessary or

expedient to reduce the risk to health arising from the consumption

of tobacco or tobacco products and to co-ordinate and promote

activities related to the prevention and control of smoking of such

items.

(5) Save as provided in this Act, the Committee may act

notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership and may regulate

its own procedure.