Data insights for the vapour sector in Central America

9th November 2023: World: The tenth Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has been postponed to 2024. COP10 was due to be held this month in Panama, but will now be held there at an undetermined date in 2024, according to FCTC authorities. They attributed the delay to “the current security situation in Panama”.
26th September 2023: Panama: The Supreme Court of Justice admitted a claim of unconstitutionality against Law 315, which prohibits the use, importation and commercialisation of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. The plaintiffs, the Association for the Reduction of the Harm of Smoking, are basing their case on a formal issue, claiming that the legislative approval process did not comply with constitutional provisions. The lawsuit will now be analysed by the court.
4th September 2023: Paraguay: The National Health Surveillance Authority (Dinavisa) has sent a notice to the prosecutor's office reporting the widespread sale of illegal vapour products, press reports. The authority said that non-compliant products, in addition to not being notified to Dinavisa, are being freely sold in unauthorised retail outlets, and are exceeding the nicotine limit of 20 mg/ml. According to data published by the National Customs Authority, the amount of compliant vaping products imported into Paraguay between January 2022 and June 2023 was 1,572,959.
8th August 2023: Venezuela / Americas: The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which serves as regional office for the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Americas, has praised Venezuela for its recently announced ban on e-cigarettes. The organisation believes e-cigs put progress on tobacco control at risk with the “negative impact on the health of the population due to the diseases they generate” The PAHO also warns that “being particularly popular among young people, [e-cigarettes] create new cohorts of nicotine and tobacco users, with adverse implications for health, society, the economy, and national development”. Venezuela’s ban on e-cigarettes was foreseen by ECigIntelligence last month.
8th August 2023: Panama: The Association for the Reduction of the Harm of Smoking has filed a lawsuit before the Supreme Court to declare Law 315, which bans the use and sale of all e-cigarettes, unconstitutional, press reports. The plaintiffs base their case on a citizen’s right to choose, and hope for an end to the smuggling of e-cigs, with and without nicotine, into the country.
16th June 2023: EU: The minutes of the meeting of the European Commission (EC) Expert Group on Tobacco Policy that took place on 3rd May 2023 have been published today (16th June). Issues discussed included the revision of the Council Recommendation on Smoke-free Environments, recommending novel products be brought in line with combustible products, and the ongoing evaluation of the legislative framework for tobacco control. During the meeting, special relevance was placed on the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), to be held in Panama in November 2023. The EC stressed the importance of EU member states speaking with one voice on all agenda items, especially because the ninth session was held virtually, so all substantive decisions were deferred to COP10.
1st June 2023: Dominican Republic: The minister of public health called on young people yesterday, World No Tobacco Day, to stop using e-cigarettes. He said “their effects are related to multiple ailments because they contain toxic agents that can cause complications in the respiratory tract, lungs, and even cancer”.
30th May 2023: Americas: Ahead of tomorrow’s World No Tobacco Day (31st May), Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), has warned that novel tobacco and nicotine products “threaten to undo decades of gains against tobacco use”. He said: “The tobacco industry and its allies do not rest. Currently, they spread a lot of misleading information that promotes, especially among young people, the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.”
2nd May 2023: Dominican Republic: Members of the centre-left Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), the ruling party, have reaffirmed support for a bill to regulate e-cigarettes and heated tobacco devices, including banning their sale to under-18s, press reports. The bill also has the backing of the opposition Fuerza del Pueblo (People’s Force) party.
16th December 2022: Dominican Republic: The special commission of the Chamber of Deputies working on the bill regulating heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes held a meeting yesterday with doctors and medical organisations from different specialisms in order to discuss their views in relation to these products, press reports. Doctors said that nicotine product usage is excessive in the country and that even if they are less harmful than traditional tobacco products, they are still harmful. They agreed that electronic cigarettes are an alternative for consumers to combustible tobacco products.
17th October 2022: Americas: The Pan American Health Organization, the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO), has published a paper on “Taxation of novel and emerging nicotine and tobacco products (HTPs, ENDS, and ENNDS) globally and in Latin America”, analysing “the evolution and market structure” of heated tobacco and e-cigarettes, with and without nicotine, and proposes “possible elements of a good tax policy approach for countries to consider”. The paper makes extensive use of ECigIntelligence data.

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LATEST ALERTS

E-cigarettes in Central America

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Alerts

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Regulatory reports

Costa Rica: e-cigarette regulation, January 2024

Guatemala: e-cigarette regulation, August 2023

Dominican Republic: e-cigarette regulation, June 2023

Analysis and trends of Tamarind Intelligence’s Policy Radar, April 2023

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Regulatory trackers

Tamarind Intelligence Policy Radar, March

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Market profile database

Key global e-cigarette markets database, April 2024

Regulatory databases

ECigIntelligence compliance calendar

International e-cigarette stakeholders database

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