Djibouti

The law, decree, and order state that health warnings must be printed on each pack, carton or package of tobacco products. Accordingly, the law meets FCTC Art. 11 with respect to warnings on unit packaging and labeling.

The law, decree, and order state that health warnings must be printed on each pack, carton, or package of tobacco products. Accordingly, the law meets FCTC Art. 11 with respect to warnings on outside packaging and labeling.

The legislation requires a warning in French on the front main surface of the packaging and a warning in Arabic on the back main surface. Therefore, the law meets the FCTC Art. 11 requirement of warning texts appearing in the principal language(s) of the country.

The legislation requires that health warnings be printed “prominently, in an indelible and irremovable manner, and are not to be in any way concealed, obstructed, veiled or separated by other statements or images.” For some types of packaging, warnings may be affixed with adhesive labels as long as they are irremovable. The law aligns with FCTC Art. 11 and the FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines in this respect.

The legislation explicitly requires that messages may not be printed on the tax stamps found on packaging. The law aligns with FCTC Art. 11 and the FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines in this respect.

The law appears to require the display of information on ingredients and emissions. However, the decree specifies that the information on the side can be about “emissions or any other appropriate subject.” The five descriptive statements ultimately prescribed in the administrative order are a mix of statements on constituents/emissions (3) and the financial costs associated with smoking (2). These statements are to appear on an equal number of packages each year. On smoked tobacco products, they are required on the lateral sides, and on smokeless tobacco products, they are required on the principal display areas. Because there would be some packages without a descriptive statement on constituents and emissions, the law is not interpreted as requiring this type of message.

To align with FCTC Art. 11 and the FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines, the law should affirmatively require and specify statements containing constituents and emissions information to appear on all tobacco product packaging.

Decree No. 2008-0183 specifically states that “a figure referring to a machine test of an emission may not appear on a package, nor as part of the brand name.”

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 11 and the FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines with respect to affirmatively prohibiting the display of figurative emissions yields because they can be misleading to consumers.

Plain packaging of tobacco products is not required in Djibouti. The FCTC Art. 11 Guidelines provide that Parties should consider adopting plain packaging measures that restrict or prohibit the use of logos, colors, brand images or other promotional information on packaging other than brand and product names displayed in a standard color and font style. Plain packaging aims to reduce the appeal of tobacco products, to increase the notice ability of health warnings, and to reduce the ability of the packaging of tobacco products to mislead consumers about the harmful effects of smoking.

The law and the decree prohibit the use of any term, descriptor, commercial brand, or figurative or other sign that may directly or indirectly create a false impression that a tobacco product is less harmful than another. The law meets FCTC Art. 11 in this respect.