The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consists of six member countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Yemen is not a GCC member, but became a member of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) on January 1, 2010.
On August 9, 2011, the GSO adopted a standard, Labelling of Tobacco Product Packages. This standard includes a requirement for picture based health warnings to cover 50% of the package front and back, with an Arabic warning on the front and an English warning on the back. Once implemented, the standard will replace the 1994 GCC standard which required text-only bilingual (Arabic and English) warnings on the package front only. The graphic warnings will be mandatory on cigarette packages starting August 9, 2012 in all GCC countries.
Two picture warnings in the new standard are specifically designed for water pipe tobacco. The new standard also contains a specific ban on misleading terms including “light”, “mild”, “low tar”, “extra light”, “low” and similar terms.
Health Warnings
2012 to Present**
** The images contained in this gallery are subject to copyright laws of the members of the GCC Standardization Organization. Any duplication, reproduction, or use without the express consent of said party is prohibited. Countries should be contacted individually for usage of images.