Your CBD face cream could get you arrested: three changes to the Tanzania advice
What happened
On 20 October 2026 the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated its travel advice for Tanzania. Three things changed. First, health screening. On 17 October the Tanzania Ministry of Health announced heightened health screening for travellers arriving from high-risk regions and affected countries, at all points of entry. This relates to Ebola. All travellers are required to fill in a Travellers Health Surveillance Form, either before departing or on arrival. Separately, mpox screening in the form of body temperature checks already applies at all points of entry. Second, protests. The advice now flags the risk of demonstrations on 29 October. That date is the one-year anniversary of Tanzania's general election on 29 October 2025, when protests and the security response led to deaths and injuries in many areas of mainland Tanzania. The FCDO says there have been calls on social media for demonstrations on public holidays and on the anniversary, and notes an increase in anti-foreigner rhetoric. Third, and most likely to catch an ordinary holidaymaker out: cannabidiol. The advice now states that some herbal highs and products containing cannabidiol, usually written as CBD, are illegal in Tanzania. Travellers are advised not to try to enter Tanzania with skincare products or e-cigarette refills containing CBD. Penalties for importing and trafficking controlled substances can be severe, including up to 30 years' imprisonment in some cases. Airports in Tanzania have technology and security for detecting illegal items, including cannabis, and this can be used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers.
Why this matters
Tanzania is a mainstream destination for British travellers: Zanzibar beaches, Serengeti safaris, Kilimanjaro. The CBD warning matters because CBD has quietly become ordinary in Britain. It is sold in high street chemists and supermarkets. It turns up in muscle rubs, face creams, sleep gummies, bath products and vape liquids. Most people who own something containing CBD are not thinking of it as a drug. They are thinking of it as a moisturiser. That is exactly how people get into serious trouble abroad. The thing in your wash bag is legal where you bought it and not where you landed, and it is detectable. The scanning point is important too. The advice notes that detection technology can be used on the baggage of transiting passengers. So this is not only a risk for people whose holiday is in Tanzania. It can apply to people changing planes. The protest date matters for practical planning. If you are booked around the end of October, 29 October is a day to keep flexible: nothing elaborate, just not the day to be in a city centre. And the screening change affects your arrival. A form you have not filled in is a queue you did not need to join.
What the evidence actually says
Three points of precision. On CBD, the FCDO's wording is that "some" herbal highs and products containing CBD are illegal. It does not publish a list of which products are and are not permitted. Combined with severe penalties, that ambiguity is the reason the sensible answer is to leave all of it at home rather than try to judge which items are fine. On screening, the Ebola measures are described as applying to travellers from high-risk regions and affected countries, not to everyone. But the Travellers Health Surveillance Form is required of all travellers. Those are two different requirements and it is easy to blur them. On protests, the advice describes demonstrations as possible, not certain, and notes they have been called for on social media. The FCDO is not advising against travel to Tanzania. It is advising travellers to stay away from demonstrations, rallies and large crowds, to monitor local media, and to leave the area immediately if they become aware of nearby protest or disruption. Two further restrictions in the advice are worth reading carefully before you post anything online. It is illegal to take or share photographs and video footage of protests and violence. And Tanzanian security services may ask to check phones and other electronic devices for content related to events around the elections, and to review participation in online groups perceived to have incited violence. The police have said it is an offence to hold or share videos or images that "cause panic or degrade a person's dignity". The authorities have previously limited internet access during or after protests.
Qurexa perspective
The CBD point has a medicines angle that is easy to miss. Plenty of people use CBD products for pain, sleep or anxiety, sometimes alongside prescribed medicines and sometimes instead of them. If you are one of them and you are travelling, the two questions worth asking are separate: is this legal where I am going, and is it actually doing anything for me? More broadly, prescription medicines have their own rules abroad, and they are stricter than most people expect. Some medicines that are routine in the UK, including certain strong painkillers and some ADHD medicines, are controlled in other countries. Qurexa supports people in Lincolnshire with prescription delivery and medication adherence, and this is the advice we would give anyone before a long trip: speak to your pharmacist a few weeks before you fly, not the night before. Ask whether anything you take needs a letter, and make sure you have enough supply, in original packaging, in your hand luggage.
Practical advice
Before you pack, go through your wash bag and vape kit and remove anything with CBD on the label. That includes creams, balms, gummies, drops and e-liquid refills. If you are unsure, leave it out. Fill in the Travellers Health Surveillance Form before you depart if you can. Check whether you need travel insurance bought in Tanzania. All visitors to mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, apart from residents, must have the Tanzanian Government-provided inbound travel insurance, even if they already have a personal policy. You only need to buy it for your first port of entry. If you arrive in Zanzibar first you buy from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation; if you arrive on the mainland first, from the National Insurance Corporation. You can buy online beforehand or on arrival, and you may be refused entry without it. Keep your own travel insurance as well, because the mandatory policy is not designed to cover everything. Apply for an e-visa before you travel. Visas are no longer issued by the Tanzanian High Commission in London. Your passport needs at least six months left on it and one blank page, and you should be ready to show a return or onward ticket. Around 29 October, avoid demonstrations and large crowds, do not film protests, and note down important phone numbers including your airline, your insurer and the FCDO's consular assistance number in case the internet is restricted. Sign up for email alerts on the gov.uk Tanzania page so you get changes automatically.
What to know
The FCDO updated its Tanzania travel advice on 20 October 2026. Heightened Ebola-related health screening began on 17 October for travellers from affected countries, and all travellers must complete a Travellers Health Surveillance Form. Demonstrations are possible around 29 October, the anniversary of the 2025 election, and the advice notes increased anti-foreigner rhetoric; filming protests is illegal and devices may be checked. Most practically, products containing CBD, including skincare and e-cigarette refills, can be illegal, penalties for controlled substances are severe, and airport scanning can apply to transiting passengers. Mandatory government-provided travel insurance and an e-visa are still required. Sources: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, "Tanzania travel advice", updated 20 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tanzania ; National Travel Health Network and Centre, "Tanzania", https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/country/213/tanzania ; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, "Foreign travel insurance", https://www.gov.uk/guidance/foreign-travel-insurance This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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