Brazil Agency Upholds Ban on Vaping Product Sales

The board of directors for the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) voted unanimously on April 19 to maintain a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes and other vaping products.

Manufacturing, selling, importing, and advertising vapes has been banned in the country since 2009, but e-cigarettes are easily found in small shops and online stores across Brazil. And consumption, especially among young people, is on the rise.

According to a survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), a federal government agency that gathers population data, 16.8 percent of students aged 13 to 17 said they had tried vaping at least once, according to media reports.

Also, data from Covitel, which carries out surveys related to health matters, reveal that 4 million people have already used electronic cigarettes in Brazil, even though sales have not been authorized for 15 years.

In 2022, Anvisa approved a technical report that indicated the need to maintain the ban and adopt additional measures to curb irregular e-cigarette sales, including more inspections and educational campaigns about the harms of vaping.

The agency discussed the case again last week after a public consultation to hear contributions from experts, vape manufacturers, and consumers. Once more, Anvisa took a stance against the sale of vapes and based the decision on four main points.