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- Related Parties: Kyrgyzstan
On the very last day of December 2014, the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan approved the Law on increasing taxes, including excise taxes on tobacco products. Excise taxes for different types of tobacco will increase as of 2015 and are expected to increase to the level of tobacco taxes in neighboring Kazakhstan. As of 2014, tobacco taxes in Kyrgyzstan are 2.5 to 12 times lower than in Kazakhstan.
On 22 December 2014, Kyrgyzstan adopted a new Governmental regulation mandating pictorial health warnings on tobacco products. Pictorial health warnings are obligatory from January 2016. This decision is in line with the art. 11 of the national tobacco control law from 2006 as well as with the article 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
It was earlier reported that Eurasian Economic Union member countries Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus will implement regulations on the packaging and labeling of tobacco products from 2017.
Late in 2014, the Eurasian Economic Commission Council (the governing body of the Eurasian Economic Union of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus) adopted technical regulations on the packaging and labeling of tobacco products.
As of 2017, these three countries will have 50% front and back pictorials on cigarette packs; the front pictorial warnings on the top of the pack; and light/low and figures on nicotine, tar and monoxide banned.
Armenia and Kyrgyzstan will also implement those regulations once they attain full membership of the Eurasian Economic Union.