UAE Law Fines and Punishments for Selling Tobacco to Minors

1. UAE Law: Fines and Punishments for Selling Tobacco to Minors Author: Dr. Hassan Elhais In the UAE, selling tobacco to individuals who are below eighteen years old is prohibited. This prohibition is governed by the Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 On Child’s Rights, also known as Wadeema’s Law. Overview of Wadeema’s Law The Wadeema’s Law protects the overall rights of the child, including his fundamental rights of life, security and care, family rights, health rights, social rights, cultural and education rights. Pursuant to Article 3 of the Wadeema’s Law, the rights of the children are protected without any discrimination as to the origin, sex, home country, religion, social status or disability of any child. The Wadeema’s Law essentially aims to protect the physical, mental and emotional psyche of a child against all forms of discrimination and abuse and further imposes the onus on the community, especially physicians, educators, health care workers and other members of the society, to mandatorily report instances of child negligence. Tobacco Prohibition As part of “Health Rights” of children under the Wadeema’s Law, Article 21/1 of the law prohibits selling or attempting to sell tobacco or tobacco products to children. The seller is entitled to ask the purchaser to provide evidence of reaching the age of eighteen. Not just tobacco, Article 21/2 also prohibits smoking by an adult in public and private transportation and indoor places in the presence of a child. Punishments for Selling Tobacco to Children In accordance with Article 63 of the Wadeema’s Law, any person who sells or attempts to sell tobacco or tobacco products to a child will be liable to penalties. The penalties include imprisonment for at least 3 months and fines of minimum AED 15,000 or either of these penalties. Article 63 of the Wadeema’s Law is set out below. “Whoever violates the provisions of Clauses 1 and 3 of Article (21) hereof shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not less than three months and/or a fine not less than AED (15,000) fifteen thousand.” Additionally, any person who smokes in the presence of a child, whether in a public or a private transportation means or in an indoor place, will be liable to fines. Violation of Article 21/2 would be

2. punishable with fines of AED 5,000. This has been prescribed under Article 62 of the Wadeema’s Law, which states as follows. “Whoever violates the provisions of Clause 2 of Article (21) hereof shall be punished by a fine not less than AED (5,000) five thousand.” Conclusion Prohibition of sale of tobacco to minors in the UAE is a vital step in ensuring that the health of the children is protected. Disclaimer: The above information might not apply if both parties are non-muslim. Starting from the 3rd of February 2023, UAE issued specific family law to be applied between non-muslim expat residents in case none of them wanted to apply his/her home country's law in the UAE. To know more information about this law, please feel free to click this link. Related Links Fundamentals of Juvenile Law in the UAE Child Custody Law in the United Arab Emirates. Let us Have a Look at New Amendments in UAE Family Law! Copyright © of this article is retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. We explicitly grant you permission to download a copy, without any alteration, of this article for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or any charge. This article can be utilized on your website or for marketing, however, we grant you permission to host this article on your website and no other rights. This content should not be altered in any way or sold commercially in any format without prior permission of the copyright holder. During reference of this article, full biographic details entailing the name of the author, his designation, the institute and the publishing date of the article shall be provided. Contact Us The H Hotel Office Tower, 29th Floor, Office 2904, Sheikh Zayed Road, PO Box 40073, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 355 8000 | Fax: +971 4 358 9494 Office No. 804, 8th Floor, Tamouh Tower Marina Square, Al Reem Island, PO Box 129980, Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 650 1211 | Fax: +971 4 358 9494 Email us: hassan@professionallawyer.me