Côte d’Ivoire Unveils Plain Packaging for Tobacco Products, Becoming Africa's Second Country to Implement Life-Saving Measure

Washington, D.C. — The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauds Côte d’Ivoire for becoming the second country in Africa, after Mauritius, to implement plain packaging for cigarettes, cementing its position as a leader in advancing evidence-based tobacco control policies across the continent.

As of August 3, 2026, all cigarettes on the market must comply with the country's plain packaging requirements. This action marks the successful implementation of Côte d’Ivoire’s 2019 Tobacco Control Act and sets a powerful example for African nations to follow.

For decades, the tobacco industry has used attractive packaging to market addictive products to attract new customers including nonsmokers and youth. Recommended under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, plain packaging reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products and strengthens the impact of health warnings.

Yet around the world, governments are fighting back by restricting the ways tobacco companies can use packaging as a marketing tool. Plain packaging requires that tobacco products be sold in packs that are uniform in color and texture, mandates standard shape, size and materials and prohibits any branding, logos or other promotional elements in packaging, all critical interventions intended to reduce the promotional appeal of these deadly products, especially to youth. 

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauds Cote D’Ivoire for joining Mauritius in adopting and implementing plain packaging in Africa. These new measures should serve as a reminder that countries around the world can and must take swift action to curb tobacco use, protect public health and stop Big Tobacco companies from targeting youth.