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In March 2022, law 315/2022 (law 315) forbidding the use, importation and sale of e-cigarettes, with and without nicotine, entered into force.
In May 2024, the Supreme Court declared law 315 unconstitutional. The case, initiated in June 2022 by the Association for the Reduction of Harm from Smoking (the plaintiff), was based on a procedural issue. The plaintiff argued that the law in question was unconstitutional because the legislative process failed to comply with constitutional requirements. Specifically, they claimed that during the second debate, the number of votes in favour did not meet the minimum threshold established by the constitution for a law’s approval. The court then declared the law unconstitutional, meaning that it is annulled and eliminated from the legal system.
This report provides detailed analysis of the current regulatory framework in place for e-cigarettes in Panama, covering all policy areas from notification and advertising restrictions to labelling and packaging, and taxation.
