‘Banned’ e-cigarette available online

Electronic cigarettes, which are not licensed for sale in Taiwan, are widely available online, according to a Taipei Times story citing an investigation by Taipei city’s Department of Health.

The department’s first probe into electronic cigarette availability found 318 different models or related products available online.

The unlicensed distribution and production of all products containing nicotine is prohibited under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.

Even marketing nicotine-free products as aids to quit smoking is illegal under the act.

The department said that while electronic cigarettes were rarely sold openly in stores, they were sometimes available from night market vendors operating under the cover of selling cigarette lighters and other products.