Oman

COMMENTS: Royal Decree No. 1/78 Regarding the Duties of the Directorate General of Specifications and Measurements at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry authorizes the Directorate General to set standard specifications for various products and materials. The decree also includes penalties to be imposed on any person who produces commodities that do not meet the standard specifications.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Commerce and Industry Decree No. 39/2001 on Cigarettes and Tobacco Products establishes maximum content/emission levels, what information can be displayed on cigarette packaging, and age restrictions, among others.

COMMENTS: Ministerial Decree No. 286/2008, Regulation of Occupational Safety and Health for Establishments Governed by the Labour Law regulates occupational safety and health and, among other things, requires employers to “work toward” the goal of prohibiting smoking in the workplace.

COMMENTS: GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) Technical Regulation 597/2009 contains standardization provisions for cigarettes, including emissions limits of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Commerce and Industry Ministerial Decree No. 38/2010 prohibits the import and sale of smokeless tobacco in any form.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources Ministerial Decision No. 272/2010 Regulating Smoking at Enclosed Public Places activates the “Bylaw on Regulation of Smoking in Enclosed Public Places.” In addition to regulating smoking in enclosed places, the bylaw sets the minimum age for sale of tobacco and regulates some tobacco advertising and promotion activity.

COMMENTS: GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) Technical Regulation 246/2011 on Labeling of Tobacco Product Packages provides standards for the Gulf region on packaging and labeling of tobacco products.

COMMENTS: GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) Approved Health Warnings contain the images and text of the four cigarette warnings authorized by GSO Technical Regulation 246/2011. It also contains two health warnings for shisha.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Industry and Commerce Ministerial Decision No. 12/2012 Adopting the Gulf Technical Regulation 246/2011 of Labeling of Tobacco Product Packs as an Omani Binding Standards adopts the Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO) Technical Regulation 246/2011 on Labeling of Tobacco Product Packages and makes it binding in Oman.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Commerce and Industry Ministerial Decree No. 239/2013 on the Promulgation of a Regulation for Promotional Offers regulates how promotions may be offered and prohibits promotional offers for tobacco products.

COMMENTS: GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) Technical Regulation 2390/2014 contains a list of additives that are permitted and a list of additives that are prohibited in tobacco products.

COMMENTS: Public Authority for Consumer Protection Resolution No. 256/2015 bans the sale of smokeless tobacco. The penalties provisions in this resolution were amended by Public Authority for Consumer Protection Resolution No. 301/2016.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Commerce and Industry Ministerial Decree No. 129/2015 on the Promulgation of a Regulation on Sale at Discounted Prices regulates how discounts are offered, including a ban of discounts on tobacco products.

COMMENTS: Decree No. 698/2015 Regarding the Trade Ban of E-Cigarette and E-Shisha prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes and e-shisha.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Commerce and Industry Ministerial Decree No. 327/2015 Regarding the Import Ban of E-Cigarette and E-Shisha prohibits the importation of e-cigarettes and e-shisha.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Health Ministerial Decree No. 42/2016 to Amend Some Provisions of the Regulation of the Press and Publications Law prohibits tobacco advertising in all print, audio, visual, and electronic media.

COMMENTS: Public Authority for Consumer Protection Resolution No. 301/2016 amends the penalty amounts contained in Resolution No. 256/2015 Banning the Trading of Chewing (Smokeless) Tobacco.

Note: This law has not been reviewed by our legal staff and was not relied upon for purposes of our analysis. We are providing it here for informational purposes only.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Information Decree No. 43/2018 amends some provisions of the Executive Regulations of the Press and Publications Law to explicitly prohibit advertising for tobacco products and its derivatives via billboards.

COMMENTS: Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion Ministerial Decision No. 67/2023 adopts Omani Standard Specification OS 1655:2022 for Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products and makes it binding in Oman. However, the implementation dates were extended through administrative practice. The implementation dates are now April 4, 2024 for manufacturers and July 4, 2024 for retailers.

COMMENTS: Omani Standard Specification OS 1655:2022 for Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products will require the plain packaging of tobacco products. In addition, the Standard increases the size of combined health warnings to 65% of product packaging. Pursuant to Ministerial Decision No. 67/2023, the Standard became binding September 5, 2023. However, the implementation dates were extended through administrative practice. The implementation dates are now April 4, 2024 for manufacturers and July 4, 2024 for retailers.