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Rabat – Council of Government adopted a draft decree setting the maximum levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes.
The Moroccan Government Council meeting held this Monday adopted draft decree law No. 2.21.235, regulating the maximum rates of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes.
This draft decree comes as an implementation of Article 25 of Law No. 46.02 pertaining to raw and manufactured tobacco.
The law stipulates the mandatory inclusion of the percentages of carbon monoxide, in addition to data related to the percentages of tar and nicotine on each package of manufactured tobacco.
The objective is to align national legislation with international standards in terms of maximum limits of the above-mentioned chemicals, according to the council’s statement.
Back in 2019, a journalistic investigation uncovered that Swiss cigarettes commercialized in Morocco are much stronger, more addictive and more toxic than those sold in Switzerland or France, due to the high proportion of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide.
The analysis revealed a double standard and found that “Moroccans smoke cigarettes that are more harmful than those smoked by Europeans. For each substance tested, nearly all cigarettes produced in Switzerland and consumed in Morocco contained levels higher than that found in Swiss and French cigarettes.”
The researchers reported that Winston cigarettes in Morocco contain “over 16.31 milligrams of full particles per cigarette,” 5.81 more full particles than Winston Classics in Lausanne, Switzerland.
For nicotine, the researchers found that “Swiss-made” Camels sold in Morocco contained more than 170% (1.28 milligrams per cigarette) of the nicotine in Camel Filters sold in Switzerland (0.75 milligrams per cigarette).
In Morocco, the smoking prevalence is estimated at 18% among Moroccans aged 15 and over, with nearly 41% of the population exposed to secondhand smoke.
Morocco is considered one of the largest consumers of tobacco in the Mediterranean area with more than 15 billion consumed cigarettes annually.
At the national level, no statistics on the exact number of tobacco related deaths are available.
According to data dating back to 2017, 31.5% of men and 3.3% of women are regular smokers, and lung cancer diagnosis is on the rise, with 90% of lung cancer cases traced back to tobacco.
Tobacco is also responsible for 25% of coronary insufficiencies including heart attacks.
According to a national survey on the habits and behaviors of smokers published in 2008, the Moroccan smoker spends an average of MAD 22 per day on tobacco, a staggering 30% of the national minimum wage.
Since 1996, Morocco has implemented an anti-smoking law (No. 15-91) which prohibits smoking in certain public places, and bans tobacco advertisements.
