. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/NOR/20 
18 October 2012  
 (12-5701) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  NORWAY  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:   
Ministry of Health Care Services 
Public Health Department  
P.O. Box 8011 Dep 
0030 Oslo  Norway Telephone: + 47 22 24 84 51 Fax: +47 22 24 86 56 E-mail:  mailto:postmottak@hod.dep.no  
Web-site: http://www.regjeringen. no/nb/dep/hod.html?id=421  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :    
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Tobacco products 
(HS 24.02) and boxes, cases, covers and any other device that is intended to fully or partially 
conceal or disguise the health warnings. 
5. Title, number of pages and langu age(s) of the notified document:  Draft of new provisions 
in Act No. 14 of 9 March 1973 relating to Pr evention of the Harmful Effects of Tobacco 
(unofficial English translation, 8 pages). 
6. Description of content:  Amendments to the Tobacco Control Act including:  
A ban on the sale of cigarettes in packets of fe wer than 20 cigarettes and a statutory authority 
to introduce regulations regarding the minimum size and quantity of other tobacco products 
(§ 10A); 
A ban on the import and sale of devices meant to hide the combined health warnings (§ 9A). 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  The 
health hazards of tobacco use are well-known.  The Tobacco Control Act contains restrictions 
in the form of advertising bans, age limits, labelling requirements and smoking bans.  
To decrease the accessibility  of tobacco products for child ren and young people, several 
amendments to the Tobacco Control Act are proposed. G/TBT/N/NOR/20 
Page 2  
 
  The amendments are part of the on-going work to fully implement the Framework 
Convention on Tobacco Control.  The reco mmendations from a WHO capacity assessment 
for tobacco control in Norway form an impor tant basis for the proposed amendments.  
8. Relevant documents:   Act No. 14 of 9 March 1973 relati ng to Prevention of the Harmful 
Effects of Tobacco (the Tobacco Control Act)  
"http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/hod/Subjec ts/the-department-of-p ublic-health/norways-
national-strategy-for-t obacco-co.html?id=451948 "   
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    Spring 2013 
2013 
10. Final date for comments:  30 November 2012 
11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [  ], or address, telephone and fax numbers, 
e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:    
Ministry of Health Care Services 
Public Health Department  
P.o. Box 8011 Dep 
0030 Oslo  Norway Telephone:  +47 22 24 84 51 Fax:  +47 22 24 86 56 
E-mail:  mailto:postmottak@hod.dep.no  
Website:  http://www.regjeringen. no/nb/dep/hod.html?id=421  
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2012/tbt/NOR/12_4147_00_e.pdf