302 tal-2009 - Regolamenti tal-2009 dwar l-Użu ta’ Fotografiji tal-Kulur jew Stampi Oħra bħala Avviżi dwar is-Saħħa fuq Pakketti tat-Tabakk

L.N. 302 of 2009

TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL) ACT

(CAP. 315)

Use of Colour Photographs or Other Illustrations as Health

Warnings on Tobacco Packages Regulations, 2009

IN excercise of the powers conferred by article 9(f) of the

Tobacco (Smoking Control) Act, the Minister for Social Policy has

made the following regulations

(1) The title of these regulations is the Use of Colour

Photographs or other Illustrations as Health Warnings on Tobacco

Packages Regulations, 2009.

(2) For cigarette packages placed on the market the

provisions of these regulations shall come into force eighteen

months after the date of publication of these regulations.

(3) For any other tobacco products placed on the

market the provisions of these regulations shall come into

force twenty-four months after the date of publication of these

regulations.

The scope of these regulations is to implement

Commission Decision of 5 September 2003 (2003/641/EC) on the

use of colour photographs or other illustrations as health warnings

on tobacco packages which establishes rules for the use of colour

photographs or other illustrations to depict and explain the health

consequences of smoking.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires

“additional warning” means any of the warnings referred

in regulation 4(3) and in the Schedule to the Labelling of

Tobacco Products Regulations, 2004;

“combined warning” means the warning consisting of

a photograph or other illustration and the corresponding text

of the additional warning provided for in regulation 4(3)

and in the Schedule to the Labelling of Tobacco Products

Regulations, 2004, as contained in each source document;

“source document” means any of the electronic files

made available by the European Commission and provided

by the Superintendent of Public Health, which contains a

combined warning, as per Commission Decision of 26 May,

2005 on the library of selected source documents containing

colour photographs or other illustrations for each of the

additional warnings listed in the Schedule of the Labelling of

Tobacco Products Regulations, 2004 in terms of Schedule I to

these regulations;

“tobacco package” means any form of unit packet

and any outside packaging used in the retail sale of tobacco

products, with the exception of additional transparent

wrappers.

(1) Tobacco packages shall carry a combined warning

taken exclusively from Schedule I to these regulations referred

to the source document, without any changes to any of its

components.

(2) Only the pictorials in Schedule II to these

regulations shall be used in the combined warnings.

(3) The combined warnings shall

(a) be rotated at least once a year to guarantee the

regular appearance of all of the additional warnings;

(b) be printed on the other most visible surface of the

tobacco package, respecting the format and proportions of the

source document and the graphical integrity of the picture and

the text;

(c) occupy the entire area reserved for the additional

health warning, and be positioned parallel to the top edge

of the package, and in the same direction as the other

information on the package;

(d) be reproduced in accordance with the technical

specifications for printing as per Schedule I to these

regulations;

(e) be surrounded by a black border not less than 3mm

and not more than 4mm in width which in no way interferes

with any textual or visual element of the combined warning.

(4) The combined warning shall cover not less than

45% of the external area of the other most visible surface of the

unit packet of tobacco

Provided that, in the case of unit packets intended for

products other than cigarettes, the most visible surface of which

exceeds 75 cm 2 , the combined warning shall cover an area of at

least 24 cm 2 of the other most visible surface.

(5) In the case of tobacco products other than

cigarettes, the combined warnings may be affixed as stickers,

provided that such stickers are irremovable. The reproduction of

the combined warnings on the stickers shall be in accordance with

the technical specifications for printing as per Schedule I to these

regulations.

(6) The combined warnings shall not be commented

on, paraphrased or referred to in any form on the tobacco package.

(1) The combined warnings shall

(a) be irremovably printed, indelible and in no way

hidden or interrupted by other written or pictorial matter or

by the opening of the packet, provided that the printing of the

combined warnings on the tax stamps or price marks of unit

packets shall be prohibited;

(b) be displayed in a manner that ensures that none of

the textual or visual elements of the combined warnings will

be severed when the package is opened.

(2) The use of any type of wrapper, pouch, jacket,

box or other device that partially or entirely hides or interrupts the

combined warnings or any of their elements is prohibited.

(3) Tax stamps or price marks shall not be placed in

a way that partially or entirely hides or interrupts the combined

warnings or any of their elements.

SCHEDULE I

SCHEDULE II €1.68