    TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL)    ġ CAP. 315.        1
CHAPTER 315
TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL) ACT
To make provision in respect of the control of tobacco smoking and for
matters connected therewith.
1st April, 1987;
25th April, 1987;
15th June, 1987;
15th September, 1987;
1st January, 1988
ACT XLII of 1986, as amended by Act IX of 2003.
Short title.
Control) Act.
Interpretation.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.51.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires - 
"advertising" means any form of commercial communication
with the aim of directly or indirectly promoting tobacco products;
"authorised officer" includes any person attached to the
Department of Health and duly authorised by the Superintendent to
exercise any power of the Superintendent under this Act and
includes police officers;
"cigarette" includes cut tobacco rolled up in paper, tobacco leaf,
or other material in such form as to be capable of immediate use for
smoking;
"information society services" means services within the
meaning of Article 1(2) of Directive 98/34/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a
procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical
standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society
Services as amended by Directive 98/48 EC (published in the
Official Journal of the European Union under reference OJ L 204,
21.7.1998 1937 and OJ L 217, 5.8.1998, respectively;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for public health and
includes, to the extent of the authority given, any person authorised
in that behalf for any purpose of this Act;
"person" includes a body corporate established by law;
"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations under this Act;
"public place" includes any place to which the public have or are
permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise;
"publication" includes any article, of any material whatsoever,
on which are visible any word, picture or other message, whether
printed or otherwise;
"smoking requisites" means requisites for smoking tobacco or
intended mainly for the preparation thereof, and includes cigarette
rolling machines, cigarette paper or other cigarette covering,
cigarette filters, cigar or cigarette holders, smoker’s pipes or pipe
  2      CAP. 315. ħ         TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL) 
cleaners, and other equipment for preparing cigarettes or cigars;
"sponsorship" means any form of public or private contribution
to any event, activity or individual with the aim or direct or indirect
effect of promoting a tobacco product;
"Superintendent" means the Superintendent of Public Health;
"tobacco" includes cigarettes and smoking mixtures intended as a
substitute for tobacco, and includes any tobacco product;
"tobacco product" means products for the purposes of smoking
wholly or partly of tobacco.
Applicability.
Cap. 31.
3. Nothing in this Act shall apply to tobacco or tobacco
substitutes as are considered to be medicinal preparations or
poisons under the Medical and Kindred Professions Ordinance or
any law substituting that Ordinance.
Prohibition of 
advertising. 
Amended by:
IX. 2003.52.
4. (1) No person shall on television, radio or other
broadcasting medium, or in cinemas, advertise cigarettes, cigars or
other forms of tobacco, tobacco product or smoking requisites.
(2) Radio, television and other programmes broadcast by other
mediums shall not be sponsored by undertakings whose principal
activity is the manufacture or sale of tobacco products.
(3) No tobacco product shall bear the brand name, trade mark,
emblem or other distinctive feature of any other product or service,
unless the tobacco product has been traded under that brand name,
trade mark, emblem or other distinctive feature previously to such
other project.
(4) The brand name, trade mark, emblem and any other
distinguishing feature of the product or service shall be presented
in a manner clearly distinct from that used for the tobacco product.
Exceptions.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.55.
5. The provisions of the last preceding section shall not apply
to foreign newspapers or magazines imported into Malta and whose
main purpose is not that of advertising the said items or any of
them or related to the business of any such items.
Prohibition of free 
distribution or 
other method of 
promotion.
Substituted by:
IX. 2003.54.
6. (1) Advertising in the press and other printed publications
shall be limited to publications intended exclusively for
professionals in the tobacco trade and to publications which are
printed and published in third countries, where those publications
are not principally intended for the local market.
(2) Other advertising in the press and other printed publications
shall be prohibited.
(3) Advertising that is not permitted in the press and other
printed publications shall not be permitted in information society
services.
Sponsorship.
Added by:
IX. 2003.54.
6A. (1) The sponsorship of events or activities involving or
taking place in more than one Member State of the European Union
or otherwise having cross-border effect shall be prohibited.
(2) Any free distribution of tobacco products in the context of
sponsorship of events as are referred to in subarticle (1), having the
    TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL)    ġ CAP. 315.        3
purpose or the direct or indirect effect of promoting such products,
shall be prohibited.
Health warnings to 
be shown in 
cinemas.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.53.
7. (1) It shall be the duty of every owner, licensee, machinist
or person for the time being purporting to act in any such a capacity
in a cinema to ensure that immediately before the beginning of
every film show and immediately on the resumption of the show
after the interval, a health warning acceptable to the Superintendent
is shown on the screen for such time, on each occasion, as shall be
prescribed, as also a notice that smoking is prohibited by law in the
cinema.
(2) It shall be the duty of every person running a broadcasting
station to ensure that before the showing of any film or other
broadcast in which smoking or any of the items mentioned in
article 4, are shown or mentioned, to broadcast immediately before
the film show or other such programme, a health warning as is
referred to in subarticle (1).
Health warnings.
Substituted by:
IX. 2003.56.
8. (1) Each packet of cigarettes and any other tobacco
product imported, sold, distributed or supplied, by way of
compensation or otherwise, shall contain such information
including information as to the ingredients and quantities thereof.
(2) For the purpose of subarticle (1) and for any other purpose
of this Act, the Superintendent may request manufacturers and
importers of cigarettes and tobacco products to submit a list of all
ingredients and the quantities thereof as are used in the
manufacture of such cigarette or tobacco products..
Regulations.
Substituted by:
IX. 2003.56.
9. The Minister may make regulations for the better carrying
out of the provisions of this Act and for reducing harm resulting
from the consumption of tobacco or tobacco products, and in
particular and without prejudice to the generality of that power,
may make regulations for all or any other following purposes:
( a ) to prescribe that health warnings as are referred to in
article 10 shall be affixed in prominent positions in
any public place and inside any vehicle licensed or
used for public transport, and that it shall be the duty
of the licensee and the driver, as the case may be, to
comply with such regulation;
( b ) to prescribe the maximum permissible tar, nicotine and
other content which cigarettes or other forms of
tobacco or tobacco products may contain, and the
maximum yield of any such substances which may be
obtained therefrom;
( c ) to prescribe the conditions under which the sale or
distribution of cigarettes, cigars or other tobacco
products shall be prohibited or restricted;
( d ) to prohibit or control any advertisement directly or
indirectly connected with tobacco or with tobacco
smoking;
( e ) to control the number of cigarettes which may be
  4      CAP. 315. ħ         TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL) 
offered for sale as any one retail packet and to prohibit
the sale of single cigarettes: 
Provided that the Minister shall not make
regulations prohibiting the sale of cigarette packets
containing such number of cigarettes as the cigarette
packets as are on sale on the day of the coming into
force of this paragraph;
( f ) to control the presentation of cigarettes, cigars and
other tobacco products;
( g ) to prohibit or control smoking in any place or part
thereof; and
( h ) to prescribe any other matter which may be or is
required to be prescribed by this Act.
Health warning to 
be displayed in 
shops.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.57.
10. The licensee of any premises from which cigarettes, cigars,
tobacco or tobacco products or smoking requisites are sold, shall
ensure that a warning notice acceptable to the Superintendent in
respect of wording, format, size and presentation, and indicating
the dangers to health of smoking, and that such notice be
prominently displayed in the premises so as to attract the attention
of customers or other persons on the premises and to be easily seen
and read by them.
Tar and nicotine 
content.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.58.
11. (1) No cigarettes may be imported, sold, supplied or
distributed by way of compensation or otherwise unless there is
printed on the package or on a label affixed thereon, such
information as the Superintendent may from time to time by
regulations require.
(2) The provisions of subarticle (1) shall not apply to
cigarettes, cigars, tobacco or tobacco products intended for export
and which are not sold or distributed for consumption in Malta.
Sales to comply 
with Act and 
regulations.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.59.
12. (1) No person shall sell any cigarettes or other forms of
tobacco or tobacco product which do not comply with the
provisions of this Act or of any regulation made hereunder.
(2) No person may sell or authorise the sale of tobacco
products in or from -
( a ) hospital grounds, clinics, pharmacies or any other
health care establishments;
( b ) school grounds, colleges, or any other educational
institution;
( c ) sports or athletic facilities.
Sale to young 
persons.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.60.
13. (1) No person shall sell, supply or distribute by way of
compensation or otherwise, any cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, tobacco
products or smoking requisites to any person who is under the age
of eighteen years, or in any manner induce such person to smoke.
(2) No cigarettes, cigars, tobacco or tobacco product may be
sold from automatic sales machines except where such machines
are kept under supervision.
    TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL)    ġ CAP. 315.        5
(3) It shall be the responsibility of any person during such time
as he is responsible for or has the control of the premises in which
any such sales machine is kept to ensure that no person under
eighteen years of age shall make use of such machine.
Prohibition of 
smoking in certain 
premises and 
public transport.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.61.
14. (1) No person shall smoke any cigarette, cigar, tobacco or
tobacco product on any public transport, in any cinema, theatre,
hospital, clinic or other health institution, or in any television
studio in any debate, discussion or other programme broadcast
locally for public viewing whether live or pre-recorded; or in any
other place or establishment or part thereof as the Minister may
from time to time prescribe; nor shall any person smoke any such
item in any classroom, corridor, yard or appurtenance of a school,
day home or similar premises used by children under eighteen years
of age.
For the purposes of this subsection "school" includes a
kindergarten, nursery school or similar premises.
(2) It shall be the duty of the person in charge of any premises
mentioned in subarticle (1), and of the driver and conductor of any
public transport, to ensure that an appropriate sign or notice is put
up in a prominent place or places as the case may require, so as to
attract attention that smoking is prohibited, and it shall also be the
duty of any such person to ensure that no smoking takes place on
the premises or public transport, as the case may be.
Sale, etc., of 
sweets, etc., in 
cigarette form.
15. No person shall import, manufacture, sell, supply or
distribute by way of compensation or otherwise any sweets,
confectionery or toys in the form of cigarettes, cigars or smoker’s
pipe.
Food hygiene.
derogation of the provisions of any other law prohibiting or
restricting the smoking of tobacco for reasons of food hygiene.
Offence by body or 
association.
17. Where an offence under or against any provision of this
Act, is committed by a company or an association or other body of
persons or a body corporate established by law, every person who
at the time of the commission of the offence was a director,
manager, secretary or other similar officer of such company,
association or other body of persons or a body corporate
established by law or was purporting to act in any such capacity
shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence unless he proves that
the offence was committed without his knowledge and that he
exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the
offence.
Offences and 
penalties.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.62.
18. (1) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with
any of the provisions of this Act or of any regulations made under
this Act shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.
(2) Any person guilty of an offence against this Act or against
any regulations made under this Act, shall, without prejudice to his
liability under any other law, be liable, on a first conviction, to a
fine ( multa ) of not less than one hundred liri and not exceeding five
hundred liri, and where the act or omission constituting the offence
subsists for more than a day, the Court shall in addition impose a
  6      CAP. 315. ħ         TOBACCO (SMOKING CONTROL) 
fine ( multa ) of not less than ten liri and not more than fifty liri for
each day in which such act or omission subsists, and on a second or
subsequently conviction, in addition to such fines, and, at the
request of the prosecution, to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding three months, and to suspension of the licence of the
premises or public transport means where the offence took place,
for a period of not less than one week and not exceeding one
month.
Committee on 
Smoking and 
Health.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.63.
19. (1) There shall be a Committee, to be known as the
Committee on Smoking and Health, hereinafter referred to as the
Committee, which shall be composed of:
( a ) the Superintendent of Public Health, or his
representative, as Chairman; 
( b ) the Director of Education or his representative;
( c ) the Secretary, Ministry of finance or his
representative;
( d ) the Director of Health Promotion, or his
representative;
( e ) five members appointed by the Minister of Health as
follows:
(i) a health promotion officer from the Department
of Health; 
(ii) one member of a Consumer Association; 
(iii) one member from among the voluntary
organization interested in the reduction of the
risks to health resulting from smoking; and
(iv) two other members.
(2) The members mentioned in subarticle (1)( e )   shall be
appointed for such term and under such conditions as set out in
their respective letter of appointment.
(3) The Minister shall appoint a public officer to be Secretary
to the Committee.
(4) It shall be the duty of this Committee to advise the Minister
on any measure, including legislation, which may be necessary or
expedient to reduce the risk to health arising from the consumption
of tobacco or tobacco products and to co-ordinate and promote
activities related to the prevention and control of smoking of such
items.
(5) Save as provided in this Act, the Committee may act
notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership and may regulate
its own procedure.
