The Ministry of Health of Argentina has banned the importation, distribution, commercialization and advertising of different types of electronic cigarettes and accessories “throughout the national territory,” reports MercoPress.
Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution prohibiting heated-tobacco products (HTPs) “based on the risks involved” in using them. The health department stated that many studies have shown HTPs “produce aerosols with nicotine and other chemicals, such as acetaldehyde, acrolein and formaldehyde, [and] are harmful and potentially harmful to health.”
“Evidence suggests that novel products such as HTPs and similar products are particularly attractive to children and adolescents, and their introduction into the market has the potential to lead to tobacco initiation in young and nonsmoking adults, threatening the achievements already made in tobacco control,” the official document stated.
The National Risk Factors Survey 2018 showed that 1.1 percent of the adult Argentinian population used electronic cigarettes while the 2018 Global Youth Tobacco Survey showed that 7 percent of those aged 13 to 15 consumed electronic cigarettes.