Improving the legal environment for tobacco control in Mongolia

The main goal of the project "Improving the legal environment for tobacco control in Mongolia through policy and information copying" is to improve Mongolia in accordance with the WHO Tobacco Control Basic Convention approved in 2003.

International cigarette manufacturers have been using social media and some journalists to smear companies promoting cigarettes to project funders and implementers. Because they keep disrupting our country's children and adolescents from improving the legal environment for tobacco control to expand the market.

The Convention on the Important International Treaty on Public Health provides for the reduction of tobacco use, ban all types of cigarettes indoors to protect citizens from tobacco harm, increase special tax on tobacco, provide comprehensive tobacco services, tobacco awareness, and publicity.

The Tobacco Control Act is planned in our Government's 2020-24 activity platform. The Bill was drafted by the Technical Working Group of the Mongolian Ministry of Health in accordance with the Convention and is responsible for submitting it to the Government and getting it approved by the Parliament.

The Bill provides for many improvements for the protection of all Mongolians from the health risks of tobacco, particularly children and young people. These include include:

• Promotion of 100% smoke-free indoor policy such that there are no designated smoking rooms in public places (buildings)

• A display ban of all tobacco products at point of sale

• Banning on sale of all tobacco products to people under 21

• Increasing health warning on cigarette package up to 70 % of the surface

• Application of excise tax to novel tobacco products including ENDS and HTPs, increasing excise tax on conventional cigarettes