Niger - jail time if you light up in public places..



July 21, 2008 - Smokers in the desert state of Niger who break the newly enforced May 2006 anti-smoking laws by lighting up in public or at work, face punishments of up to three months in prison. (Niger signed the FCTC on June 28, 2004 and ratified the treaty on August 25, 2005.) Punishments for breaking the newly-enacted law will range from a 5,000 CFA franc ($12) fine to three months in prison, a government source told Reuters. The Niger government cites smoking as one of the leading health problems in the country, a uranium-producing nation that regularly faces droughts and needs food aid. As we know, many countries across the world are clamping down on the tobacco industry -- with bans on advertising, fines and even laws against actors smoking on television or in films -- but few have threatened smokers with prison.
Reference: Niger threatens illegal smokers with jail, Niamey, Reuters-Africa, 7/18/2008. Related news brief: People who smoke in public in Kenya's capital Nairobi face a fine or up to six months in jail.

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