Ulaanbaatar, November 28, 2025 /MONTSAME/. At its plenary session on November 27, 2025, the State Great Khural (Parliament) discussed whether to proceed with deliberations on the draft amendments to the Tobacco Control Law and accompanying draft laws and resolutions.

Mongolia first adopted the Law on Combating the Harmful Effects of Tobacco in 1993, later revising it in 2005 to enact the current Tobacco Control Law. Amendments were subsequently made in 2012, 2015, 2019, 2022, and 2023, introducing phased measures such as a complete ban on smoking and tobacco advertising in public places, restrictions on tobacco sales within a 500-meter radius of educational institutions, and expanded public health warnings.

The latest amendments propose gradually increasing the excise tax on tobacco products through 2030. A pack of cigarettes in Mongolia currently costs an average of MNT 3,850, around 40 percent of which is tax. This makes Mongolia among the countries with the cheapest cigarettes in the world, creating conditions that encourage tobacco consumption. WHO studies show that a 10 percent increase in cigarette prices leads to at least a 4 percent reduction in consumption, and a 5–7 percent decrease in developing countries. Research also indicates that economic measures are particularly effective in discouraging tobacco use among adolescents.

The additional tax revenue would be allocated to school sports programs, student meals, nutritional improvements, and public education initiatives. The amendments also seek to regulate emerging tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems, by officially classifying them as tobacco products under the law.

Concerns that excise tax increases would boost the circulation of counterfeit tobacco products are unfounded, the draft law initiators noted. When customs duties were raised in 2017, the share of counterfeit tobacco purchases declined from 13 percent to 6.3 percent.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the average retail price of cigarettes is projected to reach MNT 4,366 in 2026, MNT 7,082 in 2027, MNT 9,815 in 2028, MNT 12,560 in 2029, and MNT 15,339 in 2030 as a result of the phased excise tax increases.

Law enforcement agencies report detecting approximately 300–550 violations annually related to the implementation of the Tobacco Control Law, resulting in MNT 15–40 million in fines and the revocation of business licenses. Nearly half of all violations involve illegal tobacco sales within 500 meters of educational institutions, according to the National Police Agency.

As of 2024, tobacco use in Mongolia has reached 28.4 percent of the total population, ranking the country seventh in the WHO Western Pacific Region for highest smoking rates. Around 4,300 deaths annually in Mongolia are attributed to smoking. Among adolescents, the use of electronic cigarettes now exceeds that of traditional cigarettes, with one in four students aged 13–17 reporting e-cigarette use.