The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the Parliament of Georgia to oppose a legislative act that would weaken tobacco control policy.

“We are grateful to Georgia for its continued commitment to a strong tobacco control policy aimed at protecting the health and economic well-being of the country’s population from the harm caused by tobacco use”, - reads the statement of the WHO.

A bill currently tabled in the Parliament would allow the sale of tobacco in quantities as little as 15 grams. The World Health Organization says that this will increase the availability of tobacco especially for young people and less well-off individuals.

“Georgia is still one of the leaders in the European region in terms of tobacco consumption. In particular, one-third of the adult population and 15 per cent of young people consume tobacco, and the country loses about 2.4 per cent of GDP each year due to tobacco use.

The tobacco industry is using coronavirus crisis and trying to weaken the Georgian tobacco control legislation and popularize their product.

Georgia has implemented a practice of selling no less than 100 grams of cigarettes and 50 grams of tobacco in packages. In doing so, the legislation of Georgia has been brought in line with a European Parliament and Council directive which says that tobacco packages must not contain less than 30 grams of the product”, - concluded the Organization.