E-cigarettes in Vietnam

Vietnam: Tran Thi Trang, deputy director of the Ministry of Health legal department, today told a seminar organised by the Ministry of Information and Communications that the health ministry was opposed to any pilot programs for e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. Instead, she proposed a ban on all such products on the grounds that they are harmful to health and attractive to children and adolescents.

Vietnam: During a symposium yesterday on new tobacco products, the Ministry of Health objected to a proposal put forward by the Ministry of Industry and Trade for a two-year pilot programme for trade in e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. Tran Thi Trang, deputy director of the health ministry’s legal department, said the pilot proposal came purely from a business perspective and has not been thoroughly studied from the point of view of public health.

Vietnam: Luu Binh Pyong, a member of the one-party National Assembly, has criticised the loose management of novel tobacco products and spoken out against a ban, press reports. Other members of the Assembly have also supported the creation of a legal framework. Heated tobacco is forbidden in Vietnam while e-cigarettes are unregulated.