Morocco Adopts International Standards for Cigarette Chemical Limits

The international "10-1-10" standard (10 mg of tar, 1 mg of nicotine and 10 mg of carbon monoxide maximum per cigarette) will now be in effect in Morocco. The aim of the authorities is to align national legislation with international standards in terms of maximum limits for the aforementioned chemicals.

This draft decree comes in application of Article 25 of Law No. 46.02 relating to the regime of raw tobacco and manufactured tobacco, to stipulate the mandatory inscription on each package of manufactured tobacco of the percentage of carbon monoxide, in addition to the data related to the percentages of tar and nicotine, indicates a press release.

In Morocco, nearly 80% of cigarette brands sold do not comply with the 10-1-10 standard, reveals a distributor. The required update is therefore colossal for the operators. The latter may need a three-year period to comply with the standards, specifies the newspaper L’Économiste.

The tobacco sector is governed by two legal texts. The first, namely Law No. 15.91, concerns the aspects related to the control of the sector. In particular the regulation of the marketing of tobacco, such as the measure relating to the marketing of cigarettes to people over 18 years of age. As for the second text, its corpus deals with all aspects related to the import and distribution of tobacco.