Tobacco.org

• Tobacco law absence spurs black market  

More than two years after it made history by becoming the first nation to ban tobacco sales and smoking in public, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is still awaiting a law to back the ban while a black market in tobacco flourishes. The Tobacco Control Legislation is yet to be drafted though the sale of tobacco was banned in December 2004 and smoking in public places two months later. As the stakeholders met in capital city Thimphu last week to discuss the draft, the battle on tobacco seemed to be losing steam with participants also discussing whether entertainment centres like discotheques, snooker rooms and bars should have a designated room or area for smokers, Bhutan’s official media reported. “It has been a struggle to enforce the ban, especially in these entertainment places,” one of the participants told Kuensel daily.

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