First City in Taiwan Drafts Rules to Ban Vapor Products

The New Taipei City Council on Thursday approved an ordinance to ban the sale of e-cigarettes. If approved by the Executive Yuan, the legislation would make New Taipei the first of the nation’s six special municipalities to impose such a ban if it is approved.

The draft regulation prohibits manufacturing, importation, sale, display and advertising of vaping devices, and heated tobacco products and components without an individual drug or medical device license issued by the city government, according to the Taipei Times. Violators of the ban would be fined NT$10,000 to NT$100,000, and sales licenses of repeat offenders would be suspended, the draft regulation states.

It also prohibits people under the age of 18 to use smoking devices banned from sale in the city and violators of the rule must attend smoking cessation classes, and those who fail to attend the classes would be fined NT$2,000 to NT$10,000. New Taipei City Department of Health Director Chen Ran-chou said that the ordinance seeks to protect people from the health risks of e-cigarettes and safeguard public health.

The draft regulation was sent to the Executive Yuan and would take effect three months after it is approved, she said. The Taipei City Council is also reviewing a similar draft regulation, which is expected to clear the council next week.

On the national level, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has proposed an amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, seeking to raise the legal age for smoking from 18 to 20 and regulating e-cigarettes and related products. That amendment would move to the legislature for approval if approved by the Executive Yuan.