The Brazilian Senate approved an act (medida provisória) nationally banning smoking in all enclosed public spaces in November 2011. The law expands the smoking ban to all Brazilian states, eliminating the designated smoking areas popularly known as fumodromos. President Dilma Rousseff signed the bill on 15 December making  Brazilian 100% smokefree.

Some Brazilian jurisdictions, such as Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Paraná, had already been implementing smoking bans in enclosed spaces, but the previous legislation allowed smoking areas in the rest of the country. The new law is a milestone for tobacco control in Brazil, as it will also include provisions for tax increases on tobacco products, an advertising ban at points-of-sale and restrictions on the use of flavourings in tobacco products, such as menthol and clove. The newly passed law will also require that graphic health warnings be larger and placed on both sides of tobacco packets.

The President has been urged to validate and publish the law soon. She is also being urged to use her veto power to modify some provisions that are favorable to the tobacco industry and not compliant with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), such as tobacco industry advertising at private events, including some that may come under the guise of corporate social responsibility. As it currently stands, the bill will also delay the implementation of graphic health warnings on packets until five years from the date when the law is passed.

Supporters of the bill predict that its measures will reduce tobacco consumption from 15% to 9% by 2022. Brazil’s new law not only sets an example for other countries in the region, but also for the global fight against tobacco as they will be the hosts of the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

The National Institute of Cancer (INCA) – Ministry of Health and the civil-society coalition Alliance Against Tobacco Use (ACT), which have both received Bloomberg Initiative grants through The Union, have supported these developments in Brazil by fostering collaboration between national and local organisations, raising the awareness of decision-makers through training and research and providing legal and technical assistance to different governmental entities to help them achieve comprehensive tobacco control legislation.