Foreign experts noted that the smoking rates in the Republic had declined.
On February 23, specialists from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Tajikistan had a meeting with experts from the World Health Organization in Dushanbe. The parties discussed the progress in implementing the national tobacco control policy to achieve the objectives of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the press office of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection reported on February 24.
Noting the effectiveness of relevant legislative measures taken in the Central Asian country, foreign experts stated that the smoking rates in Tajikistan had declined.
Tajikistan adopted the Law on Reduction of Tobacco Consumption in 2010. The Republic acceded to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control 3 years later.
The sale of tobacco products at a distance of less than 100 metres from health institutions, educational, cultural and sports facilities, churches and mosques is banned in the country.
Moreover, it is illegal in Tajikistan to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18. Similar restrictions are applied to the sale and barter of such products.