Sulaymaniyah enforces restrictions on social media ads for tobacco and vaping

SULAYMANIYAH, December 25 — The Sulaymaniyah Center District has implemented stringent measures, prohibiting public figures from advertising vaping, hookah, and tobacco smoking, on social media platforms.

Rekan Jamal, head of the Joint Committees of the district, conveyed to 964, “Several public figures, who were previously engaged in promoting hookah and cigarettes on their social media accounts, have legally committed to discontinuing such advertising activities.”

The district office has issued explicit warnings to all cafes, underscoring the prohibition on selling vapes, hookahs, and cigarettes to individuals below the age of 18. Violation of these regulations will result in the closure of establishments.

Jamal emphasized that an international ban on tobacco advertising applied to the region and underscored that any infringement would lead to closures and rigorous legal actions.

He further revealed that district committees in question took decisive action on Saturday by shutting down a cigarette shop in the Kani Spika neighborhood for illicitly selling vapes to individuals below the legal age.

The move came on the heels of the closure of seven cafes in Sulaymaniyah the previous week, facing charges related to permitting children to enter.