As of 1 February 2020, manufacturers and importers of tobacco products in Uzbekistan are required to comply with the adopted Technical Regulation (TR) on the Safety of Tobacco Products.
The TR sets out requirements for the tar contents in cigarettes (10 mg for filtered cigarettes and 16 mg for non-filtered), for the nicotine contents in one cigarettes (maximum 1 mg for any type of cigarettes) and the maximum levels of certain chemical and biological substances, such as lead, cadmium, mercury, strontium-90, hexachlorobenzene, etc.
It also contains requirements for the raw materials and production processes, transportation and storage and labelling of tobacco products.
Marking and labelling of cigarettes
Each consumer packaging of tobacco products must contain the following information:
- the name of the type of tobacco product. In this case, it is allowed to put the name in combination with other information about tobacco products, for example, “20 cigarettes with a filter”, “50 grams of tobacco pipe”;
- the name of the tobacco product (brand) and / or registered trademark;
- name, address and telephone number of the organization authorized by the manufacturer to accept claims from consumers. The name and address of the authorized organization may be applied on the inside of the consumer packaging in a place accessible for reading when the packaging is opened;
- the name and legal address of the manufacturer, as well as the country of manufacture of the tobacco product (for example (in Uzbek): “O’zbekistonda ishlab chiqarilgan”);
- information on the quantity or net weight of products in the package;
- a health warning in the form of picture (image) illustrating the consequences of an illness caused by the use of tobacco products and a text of the corresponding content;
- information on confirmation of conformity of products (national conformity mark of Uzbekistan);
- information on tar and nicotine content in the condensate of cigarette smoke (for cigarettes);
- the inscription "20 yoshga yetmaganlarga sotish taqiqlanadi" (the text in Uzbek – an age restriction warning meaning that the product is not be used by anyone younger than 20);
- month and year of manufacture.
Warning pictures (“health warnings”)
Manufacturers and importers must place warning pictures on cigarette packets they place on the market in Uzbekistan. The pictures have been included into the Annex to the Technical Regulation on the Safety of Tobacco Products.
The pictures visually demonstrate consequences of illnesses caused by smoking and are accompanied with a text. Manufacturers and importers must place the pictures on their products within one year after the pictures have been approved by the Government. The Government will revise the pictures no more often than once every five years.
Warning pictures must be placed on the front and rear side of the pack. The resolution of each picture must be at least 300 dpi.