Taiwanese authorities are conducting more than 2,000 vaping-related investigations per month following amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act that banned e-cigarettes and tightened heated-tobacco product restrictions, reports The Taipei Times.
Fines totaling TWD280,000 ($9,117) have been imposed in 18 cases, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said.
HPA data showed that about 67 percent of the 2,173 cases were for allegedly selling e-cigarettes, 477 were for advertising e-cigarettes, 40 were for displaying e-cigarettes, and 42 were for e-cigarettes or HTP use.
“What is worth noticing is that among the 42 cases of alleged illegal use, 41 involved people aged under 20,” HPA Tobacco Control Division head Chen Miao-hsin said.
The amendments were implemented last month and also increased the age to buy cigarettes to 20, increased the size of required health warnings on cigarette cartons and expanded nonsmoking zones in public spaces.
Since the vaping ban was enacted in Taiwan on March 22, 15 out of 44 vape shops in Kaohsiung City have closed, according to the city’s Department of Health.
Among the city’s 44 stores, 10 have completely shut down their businesses while 15 have closed their doors, according to media reports. The rest of the stores have switched to selling other products, as the store owners said that the fines are too high to risk, according to Taiwan News.
In addition to intensive inspections of physical stores, the health department is monitoring online sales and social media advertisements. So far, one violator who made e-cigarette advertisements will be interviewed and fined.