Taiwan Bans Vaping, Heat-not-Burn to be Regulated

Lawmakers in Taiwan passed a ban on vaping products for its third legislative reading Thursday. The measure was necessary to address the increasing popularity of vaping products with the country’s youths, according to officials.

The sale, manufacture, and supply of e-cigarettes will be outlawed, however, heated tobacco products (HTPs) will only be subjected to tighter regulation, according to an amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, according to media reports.

Manufacturers or importers of HTPs will have to submit a health risk evaluation report for review before they can receive a permit. The advertising of heating tobacco products will be banned, wrote CNA.

Other changes involve raising the legal smoking age from 18 to 20, increasing the proportion of tobacco package warning messages from 35 percent to 50 percent, and designating childcare centers as well as schools as no-smoking/no-vaping areas.

The move is hailed as a partial victory for anti-tobacco groups after years of calls for stricter control of cigarettes and novel tobacco products. The last time the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act was amended in Taiwan was in 2009.

Among the contentious parts of the amendment is how flavored tobacco products are to be regulated. Critics say the change is not bold enough as it only prohibits the use of banned additives, but this can present a loophole as the terminology is vague, wrote UDN.