The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will make it mandatory to write the tobacco content on hookah tobacco product packages, and the use of colorants will also be prevented.
The “Regulation on Amendments to the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Production Method, Labeling and Inspection of Tobacco Products” prepared by the Ministry was published in the Official Gazette and entered into force.
According to the statement made by the Ministry, new measures were taken with the regulation to prevent the promotion and encouragement of tobacco products and to combat unregistered tobacco product trade.
It will be mandatory to write the tobacco content on hookah tobacco product packages. Necessary infrastructure preparations are being carried out to monitor this obligation.
The production date and coding information will be written on the inner packaging of hookah tobacco products. These packages cannot be cylindrical.
IT WILL BE MANDATORY ON CIGARETTE PACKAGES
In order to ensure tracking and monitoring, the content of coding information on cigarette packages will be expanded. Information such as production line and machine number and shift number and minimum “day/month/year” coding on cigarette packages, and minimum “day/month/year” coding has been made mandatory for other tobacco products.
In order to ensure tracking and tracing, the production date information on tobacco product packages will be at least “day/month/year”.
In order to prevent the promotion and encouragement of tobacco product use, the use of colorants in the production of hookah tobacco products was banned, and it was also stipulated that cigarette filters cannot be in any shape other than cylindrical.
Companies operating in the sector were given a transition period until March 31, 2025 to bring their products into compliance with the regulation. After this date, products that do not comply with the changes will not be available on the market.
“PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE APPLICATION ARE BEING SOLVED”
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı, whose views were included in the statement, also stated that arrangements were made in the regulation to eliminate the problems encountered in practice and to add some necessary elements.
Yumaklı, who pointed out that the regulation includes provisions aimed at effectively combating unregistered tobacco product trade and preventing the promotion and encouragement of tobacco product use, noted the following:
“Following the previous amendments made to the Turkish standards, which are among the technical regulations that must be complied with in the issuance of market conformity certificates, it became necessary to make amendments in order to harmonize the regulations in the ‘(TS) 13444 Cigar and Cigarillo Standard’ with the relevant provisions of the regulation. In this context, with the amendment to the regulation published in the Official Gazette, we are implementing certain regulations in the production method and market supply of tobacco products. We are creating an effective monitoring mechanism to prevent informality in tobacco product trade and eliminating certain incentive elements.”
