Burkina Faso bans all tobacco and vaping products in public places

According to a decree dated April 15, 2025 and signed in particular by the President of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Prime Minister Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo and several members of the government, it is now prohibited to consume any tobacco and vaping product in enclosed or open spaces and on public transport.[1]This decision by the Burkinabe government aims to protect the population from the harmful effects of active and passive smoking, for the sake of public health.

A strict ban to protect Burkinabe public health

This decree applies to all forms of tobacco consumption, including shisha and also e-cigarettes, as well as any product producing smoke or vapor. Also affected are tobacco-related items, such as ashtrays. The ban applies to all public places, whether enclosed, such as offices, restaurants, gyms, bars, nightclubs, cinemas, theaters, museums, train stations, airports, hotels, and covered markets, or open, such as parks, stadiums, and bus stops, as well as public transportation.[2].

Violators face fines of 15,000 FCFA (around €23) for smokers and 50,000 FCFA to 200,000 FCFA (€76 to €305) for those responsible for the places concerned and those responsible for public transport.In the event of a repeat offense, the penalties provided for in this chapter shall be doubled., indicates article 11 of the presidential decree[3]Additional financial and administrative sanctions may be imposed on those responsible for establishments and companies contravening the provisions of the decree.

Smoking, a major public health issue in Burkina Faso

According to the WHO, in 2023, tobacco was the cause of death for more than 8 million people, including 1.3 million from secondhand smoke. Burkina Faso is one of the African countries where the tobacco epidemic developed relatively recently but progressed sharply in the 1990s and 2000s.[4]Although smoking prevalence has declined from 19.8 % in 2013 to 13.6 % in 2021, tobacco remains responsible for more than 4,800 preventable premature deaths each year, including 1,300 victims of passive smoking.[5].

The country relaunched its tobacco control policy in 2025. In March 2025, it adopted plain cigarette packaging, making it one of the first countries in Africa to follow the guidelines of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on this subject. It had previously banned advertising, and a tax increase policy increased the price of a pack from 1,000 to 1,500 CFA francs in three years, or from approximately 1.5 euros to 2.2 euros. This was supplemented by the expansion of smoke-free areas and the launch of prevention campaigns in local languages during football matches. The African Tobacco Control Alliance (ACTA), in its second edition of the 2023 African Tobacco Industry Interference Index, revealed that Burkina Faso, along with Botswana and Ethiopia, were the countries where public policy protection measures against the tobacco lobby had made the most progress, combined with a general improvement in tobacco control.[6].

Despite this, due to its political instability, the tobacco industry thrives there. In 2021, for example, an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed that Philip Morris' representative in Burkina Faso, Apollinaire Compaoré, listed as a smuggler by the UN itself, was at the head of an annual trafficking of billions of cigarettes destined for North Africa (Libya, Algeria).[7]This smuggling finances the militarization of organized crime, ethnic militias and Islamist terrorist organizations, weakening the West African region.

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[1]Faso.net, Burkina/Ban on smoking in public places: The implementing decree has been signed, published on April 18, 2025, accessed on April 22, 2025

[2]Dr. Zarianne, Burkina Faso: Ibrahim Traoré takes a radical decision to protect the population; it is now forbidden to..., YopL.frii, published on April 19, 2025, consulted on April 22, 2025

[3]Kpehoun Judicaël, Burkina Faso: Smoking in public prohibited under penalty of a fine of 15,000 FCFA, Banouto, published on April 19, 2025, consulted on April 22, 2025

[4]Lokossou Charbel, Burkina Faso: Smoking banned under penalty of a fine, Africa on 7, published on April 21, 2025, consulted on April 22, 2025

[5]Tobacco-free generation, Burkina Faso: Anti-tobacco law introduces plain packaging, published March 24, 2025, accessed April 22, 2025

[6]Tobacco-free generation, Despite some progress, African countries remain susceptible to tobacco industry lobby, published October 31, 2023, accessed April 22, 2025

[7]Tobacco-free generation, Wars and conflicts are fertile ground for the tobacco industry, published October 8, 2024, accessed April 22, 2025

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