Regulations on Smoking in Public Settings





• Local order no. (2/2009) and administrative decision (33/2010) both work in parallel with the strategic directions of Oman Vision 2040, to promote the public health and the environment together.

• Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed public places

• The sale of tobacco or its products to any person under the age of 18 is prohibited


Stemming from the strategic directions of the Oman Vision 2040 which is based on several pillars, including the promotion of a sustainable health and environmental system, Muscat Municipality pays great attention to organizing all aspects concerning public health issues in general and smoking-related topics in particular, as local Order No. 2/2009 came to strengthen the provisions of that agreement, which included in its Article No. 3 "to prohibit smoking in all enclosed public places".

Administrative decision no. (33/2010) on the requirements for smoking in enclosed public places also clarified and specified a number of places where smoking is prohibited.
The regulation of smoking means identifying closed public places where smoking is strictly prohibited, as well as places where smoking is allowed according to certain requirements that limit the negative effects of smoking on smokers themselves and on non-smokers. The decision has also prohibited smoking in public transportation such as buses, taxis, airplanes, ships, and boats.

Enclosed public spaces means "all places accessible to the public or places of collective use regardless of their ownership or the right to enter them and the word enclosed includes any space covered by a roof and bounded by one or more walls or sides, regardless of the type of materials used in the construction of the roof, wall or siding, regardless of whether the construction is permanent or temporary".

Article (4) of the aforementioned local order stated that in the case of allocating special places for smokers, a number of requirements must be met, such as obtaining the approval of the Municipal Health Affairs Department for these places, attaching the necessary documents, including filling out the application form and attaching the municipal license, providing a comprehensive plan of the shop and indicating the designated place for smoking and mentioning the spaces, in addition to providing engineering diagrams of the ventilation and air conditioning system showing the complete separation between the designated places for smokers and non-smokers to obtain preliminary written approval before starting implementation.

With the assurance that the place should be completely isolated from non-smoking areas, and its area should not be less than (20 m2 ) twenty square meters-regardless of whether the designated place is equipped with a ventilation system or an air filter, and it also requires clear markings on the designated places for smokers, and in order to avoid the occurrence of any disasters as a result of fires and fumes, these places must meet the safety and fire-fighting conditions of the buildings, and the officials of the Departments of the mentioned closed public places must not allow smoking except in the designated place, and alert the public to regulate smoking inside these places.

Ashtrays must be removed from all closed public places where smoking is prohibited and placed at a distance of at least (7.5 meters) outside the entrances to closed public places, in addition, the administrators of closed public places must not allow persons under the age of (18) to enter places designated for smoking, and it is prohibited to allocate places for smoking in houses of worship, educational institutions, government institutions, health and sports facilities and the like.

Article (7) of the above-mentioned decision clarifies the administrative sanctions resulting from violation of legislation and legal regulations, where the municipality notifies the perpetrator of the violation to remove any violation of the provisions of this order.in case he does not carry out the removal within the period specified by the municipality, it may be carried out by direct execution with the violator bearing the costs of removal.

As Article (8) indicates, subject to any more severe punishment provided for by the Omani Penal Code or any other law, anyone who violates the provisions of this order shall be punished with a fine of one hundred riyals for the first and second violation, and a fine of three hundred riyals for each subsequent violation of the second violation. Anyone who continues to commit the violation after receiving a notification from the municipality may be fined no more than (25) riyals for each day, provided that the total fine does not exceed one thousand riyals, imprisonment for a maximum of three months, or both penalties.

In case of violation of the previous article, Article (9) stipulates that "by a decision of the chairman or his authorized representative, in case of violation of the provisions of this order by a facility licensed by the municipality, it may be temporarily closed for no more than three days the first time, and for no more than seven days the second time.
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