E-cigarettes in Colombia

Colombia: President Gustavo Petro has decided not to tax e-cigarettes, press reports. Medical societies had been urging the government to include a tax on e-liquids in his tax reform plans and some members of the Chamber of Representatives have already criticised the decision not to do so.

Colombia: Julián Peinado of the Colombian Liberal Party will next week introduce in the Chamber of Representatives a bill to regulate e-cigarettes, equating them with tobacco products, press reports. If approved, the bill will ban sales to minors and introduce packaging and labelling restrictions, including a mandatory health warning, and ban sponsorship of sporting and cultural events. The Colombian Liberal Party is currently the largest party in the Chamber of Representatives, with 32 seats out of 188.

Colombia: The incoming government is planning to impose excise duty on e-liquids. President-elect Gustavo Petro and the National Federation of Departments (FND) have signed a document defining the working agenda for the next months, in which duty on e-liquids is labelled as a priority. No details of the rate or model to be imposed have been disclosed.

Colombia: The Ministry of Health reports that between 2016 and 2021, smoking prevalence fell from 8.3% to 5.6%, a drop of 1m in the number of smokers. The ministry has not revealed figures for the number of users of e-cigarettes or heated tobacco.