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World INC-5 to be continued to find consensus on international plastics pollution law ...
Vietnam Instructions to strengthen prevention of heated tobacco product smuggling ...
United Arab Emirates ICPS announces 1st April launch of Integrated Central Customs Tariff System ...
Saudi Arabia Agencies newly included in National Committee for Tobacco Control ...
Jordan Government allows manufacture of heated tobacco devices ...
Kentucky - United States Bill on retail licence for alternative nicotine products goes to governor ...
France Tobacconists want drug trafficking law to include tobacco smuggling ...
United Arab Emirates Technical requirements for pouches issued ...
Netherlands Bill proposing registration for tobacco retailers passes to Senate ...
Estonia Second reading of bill to ban flavours in HTPs due to conclude next week ...
United Kingdom Report stage of Tobacco and Vapes Bill to start next week ...
Moldova MPs on both sides criticise proposed HTP and pouch restrictions ...

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Alternative tobacco and nicotine products in Kuwait

Global business and regulatory news covering the alternative tobacco industry

12th March 2025

GCC unified standard for electronic tobacco alternatives nears adoption

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Daily regulatory updates of the tobacco alternative sector. It includes weekly podcasts and monthly compilations

12th March 2025: Middle East: The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean published a post on 11th March on the social media platform X that called on smokers to quit smoking, highlighting that smoking might decrease life expectancy by ten years.
10th March 2025: Kuwait: On 7th March, the credit rating agency Fitch Ratings published a commentary on Kuwait’s credit rating, indicating that there are plans to introduce “the long-delayed” excise tax in the fiscal year ending March 2026 (FY25), but with possible delays. It was previously reported that Kuwait was exploring an excise tax on a limited range of supplies, including tobacco and related products.
28th February 2025: Middle East: The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean posted that while smoking rates in the region are declining, there is still significant room for improvement. The WHO urged its Eastern Mediterranean Region member states to strengthen tobacco control measures, including smoking bans in public places, prominent health warnings, and enhanced support services for smoking cessation. Notably, the thread makes no reference to novel tobacco products such as e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products.
18th February 2025: Gulf Cooperation Council: The Technical Committee for Tobacco Products of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standardization Organization (GSO) has preliminarily approved a standard introducing flavour restrictions, additional requirements for devices and batteries, common health warnings, and standardised packaging regulations across all GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – for both vaping and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The standard still requires final approval, and the text of the proposed regulation is currently unavailable. We are actively engaging with the relevant authorities to obtain more detailed information.
30th January 2025: Kuwait: Minister of finance Noora Al-Fassam has confirmed that she is preparing the Selective Tax Law, also known as the Harmful Goods Tax, which will impose a tax on all harmful products. Al-Fassam estimates that the law will generate approximately $648m in revenue. Ahmed Al-Shatti, vice president of the Ministry of Health’s National Anti-Smoking Programme, highlighted the significance of this tax, noting that smoking costs the government around $1.36bn annually. According to a press report, the revenue from this tax will help support the medical sector. The law is part of the Selective Excise Taxation Agreements signed in 2017 by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. Kuwait currently imposes an excise duty of 100% of the retail price on heated tobacco products. While not officially mentioned in the Ministry of Finance’s press release, this tax could potentially be introduced as part of the Harmful Goods Tax.
5th November 2024: Kuwait: The International Conference on Tobacco Control organised by the Ministry of Health has recommended that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries establish national observatories to monitor tobacco industry activities and align with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards on tobacco control. Additionally, the conference advocated for regulating novel emerging products in the region, such as nicotine pouches, and recommended increasing excise taxes on tobacco.
28th October 2024: Kuwait: During a conference on Tobacco Control organised by the Kuwait Association against Smoking and Cancer in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Ahmed Al-Awadhi, Kuwait's minister of health, said that tobacco is one of the most serious health threats, press reports. He added that all tobacco products are equally harmful to health and that policies must be developed and implemented to combat their spread to protect society, especially youth.
30th November 2023: Kuwait: Deputy prime minister Essa Al-Kandari’s letter requesting the urgent ratification of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Unilateral Tax Agreement was not discussed during the ordinary session of the National Assembly, as the government withdrew the request. The tax imposed on tobacco products will remain unchanged.
28th November 2023: Kuwait: Today, the National Assembly will discuss deputy prime minister Essa Al-Kandari’s request for the urgent ratification of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Unilateral Tax Agreement. If passed, an ad valorem excise tax at a rate of 100% of the retail sale price will be applicable for heated tobacco sticks and their hardware.
31st May 2023: Kuwait: During an awareness campaign about the dangers of tobacco, the vice president of the National Anti-Smoking Programme (from the Ministry of Health), Ahmed El-Shatti, said that Kuwait is the cheapest in the Gulf region in terms of tobacco prices, and called for an increase in tobacco taxation to reduce consumption rates and the number of tobacco users, press reports. It should be noted that Kuwait has not yet adopted the 100% customs duty imposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Full-length in-depth reports with detailed data and analysis for individual markets around the world

29th October 2024

The Middle East: nicotine pouch market overview, October 2024

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Regulatory reports

Detailed legal reports outlining industry regulation, analysis of the laws, and compliance requirements

16th December 2024

Kuwait: heated tobacco and herbal heated product regulation, December 2024

26th July 2023

Kuwait: heated tobacco regulation, July 2023

24th July 2023

Kuwait: oral tobacco and nicotine pouch regulation, July 2023

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Market data outputs, statistics and forecasts in interactive and downloadable format

25th February 2025

Heated tobacco markets database

30th January 2025

Heated tobacco pricing tracker

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Regulatory data

Up-to-date information about current regulations around the world

17th March 2025

Global regulatory tracker: heated tobacco regulation, March

17th March 2025

Global regulatory tracker: nicotine pouches, March

14th March 2025

TobaccoIntelligence compliance calendar

More Regulatory data

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