Panama: e-cigarette regulation, March 2025

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.

We therefore understand that vaping products in Panama are currently unregulated, and, based on the contradictory answers from the authorities, it is not clear if consumer laws apply to such products.

However, the legal uncertainty will soon end, as after months of vaping products being in a grey zone and unregulated, the Ministry of Health adopted and published resolution 146 of 31st January 2025 (resolution 146) on 13th February 2025, which specifically regulates vaping products, regardless of their nicotine content.

This report provides detailed analysis of the regulatory framework for e-cigarettes in Panama, covering all policy areas from market access and advertising to taxation and packaging restrictions