HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani passed a law on Tuesday that puts forth that a person who smokes while driving a vehicle having an occupant under the age of 18 is punishable with a maximum fine of QR3,000.
The new law under Article 18 of Law No. 10 of 2016 on the control of tobacco and its derivatives abolishes the stipulations of Law No 20 of 2002.
It may noted that there are similar laws on the control of tobacco smoking. For instance, the Minister of Public Health, under Article 12, bans smoking inside closed public places and prohibits the sale of tobacco, its derivatives or cigarettes at a distance of less than 1,000 meters from schools and other education or training centres.
Moreover, Article 16 consists of penalties like six months jail term and a maximum fine of QR100,000 for fluting articles 2,3, 4, 6,7,8,9,10,11, and 13 of this law, as reported by the Gulf Times. Violators of the law face a fine between QR1,000 and QR100,000.
It is worth mentioning that Article 2 of the law bans the plantation of tobacco in Qatar, in addition to its manufacturing or the manufacture of its derivatives and Article 3 puts forth that all importers, stockists and dealers of tobacco, its derivatives or cigarettes shall abide by the provisions of this law and its executive regulations.
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Similarly, Article 4 contains that each importer of tobacco or its derivatives or cigarettes shall notify the Minister of Public Health at least one week ahead of the arrival of a fresh cargo in the country so as to facilitate the inspection of the consignment when it arrives and make sure that it complies with the approved specifications.
The Minister of Public Health gets under Article 5, the power to issue a decision specifying the permitted level of nicotine and tar in a single cigarette, while Article 6 makes sure that each packet of tobacco, its derivatives or cigarettes shall show an expiry date.
Article 7 bans the import, display, sale, distribution or manufacture of chewable tobacco, in any form or under any name and Article 17 regards every individual who smokes tobacco, its derivatives or cigarettes or encourages the act in closed public areas, where smoking is banned, is be punishable under law.
According to Article 17, every individual who smokes tobacco, its derivatives or cigarettes or allows this at closed public areas, where smoking is banned, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than QR1,000 and not more than QR3,000.
