E-cigarettes worldwide

Australia: The Australian Capital Territory today passed the Health Legislation Amendment Bill, which amends the 2008 Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act and the 1927 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act to ban the sale of e-cigarettes from vending machines and implement stronger measures to enforce the ban on the sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s.

Kazakhstan: Following a recent proposal to ban vapour products, the harm reduction association Densaulyk says not all e-cigarettes should be banned, but only disposables, which it says are “the main threat”, media reports.

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.

Philippines: Representative Joey Salceda of the majority bloc Lakas-CMD party has presented a bill to increase e-cigarette taxes from 1st January. The proposed rates are PHP60 ($1.05) per ml for nicotine salt e-liquids, plus an ad valorem tax at 20% of the net retail price and a specific tax of PHP20 ($0.34) per device.

Tajikistan: A draft amendment to the Law on Restricting the Use of Tobacco Products was presented at a meeting of a parliamentary working group, press reports. In addition to banning snus and nicotine pouches, it would introduce a minimum retail price for tobacco products and e-cigarettes.