Oman to reduce tobacco consumption by 30%

Cairo: The regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Eastern Mediterranean, has expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Sultanate of Oman in advocating plain packaging for tobacco products.

Plain packaging prohibits the use of logos, colours, brand images or promotional information on tobacco packages, and displays names, brands and product names in a standard style of color and font.

This step is consistent with the obligations of the States Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, as the Sultanate of Oman continues its relentless pursuit of achieving the goal of reducing tobacco consumption by 30 percent by 2025.

Dr. Ahmed bin Salem Al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said: “Plain packaging is one of the most successful policies and the most effective public health interventions in reducing the demand for tobacco, as it reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products in the eyes of consumers, especially young people, and this is what we seek.” To protect future generations from the scourge of tobacco.

He added that the application of this policy in the Sultanate of Oman is expected to lead to positive effects that contribute - along with other policies it adopts in this field - to reducing consumption rates, reaching the desired goal of reducing this consumption by 30 percent by 2025.

The Ministry of Health and the National Committee for Tobacco Control, which includes many governmental and private agencies and institutions, are working to reduce the harms of smoking, which is one of the priorities in their program aimed at improving the health situation in the Sultanate of Oman.

The World Health Organization recommends the application of a set of measures called the “six policies” (MPOWER) to reduce the demand for tobacco and nicotine products in accordance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.