Tag: ban on e-cigarettes

Mexico Invents Aerosol Test for Vapes ‘Since None Exist’

Credit: Niyazz
A health regulatory body for Mexico’s government says its scientists have developed a new methodology to analyze the aerosols in electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) because “no one else has come up with one.” The sale of ENDS products was banned in Mexico in June.
Final results of a new analysis of ENDS products using the new method will be published in scientific journals in the coming months, according to Cofepris chief Alejandro Svarch, who added that the “pioneering methodology” developed in Mexico will be of interest to health authorities in other countries.
Aerosol testing has been performed on vaping products since at least 2014 in other countries, such as the U.S. and the UK. Svarch offered no explanation on how Mexico’s new testing method is performed or why it is effective or why other methods were not effective, only that a testing method “did not exist.” There was no mention of what products were tested or at what temperatures.
He said an analysis using the exclusive method by health regulator Cofepris detected “30 undisclosed substances in aerosols inhaled” via ENDS products.
Linalool, which can be used as an insecticide, was one of the substances detected, Svarch said during Mexican President López Obrador’s press conference last week.
“This in itself is an enormous deception of consumers, who trust that the product is less harmful than a conventional cigarette, because it [supposedly] only has flavorings and nicotine, when in fact, it has other kinds of substances or ingredients that are highly dangerous for humans,” Svarch said.
Among the “hidden” ingredients that “producers of vaping devices don’t want us to know about,” he said, are dimethyl ether, benzyl alcohol, ethyl propionate, isoamyl acetate, butyl acetate and methyl cinnamate.
Svarch also presented a song commissioned by Cofepris (song starts at 1:40) that warns of the risks of vaping and advises ENDS users to “give up now.”
Among the cautionary tales offered via the song’s lyrics are the cases of a woman who lost three teeth due to vaping and a handsome man who became known as “burnt face” because his “beloved vape” exploded while he was using it, according to media reports.
October 25, 2022
Nicaragua Bans Imports of E-Cigarette Products

Credit: Adaptice
In Nicaragua, the General Directorate of Customs Services issued the technical circular identified as CT/116/2022, informing the officials of the General Directorate of Customs Services and the public of the prohibition on the importation of electronic cigarettes and the obligation of importers and exporters of tobacco to register before the National Sanitary Regulation Authority.
The ban on electronic cigarettes entering the country is absolute, prohibiting the import, export, storage, distribution, marketing, and use of electronic nicotine delivery systems, electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, or other similar devices with or without nicotine, according to JD Supra.
The regulation prohibits the entry into the country of these products, even for personal use, by empowering customs officials to seize such products from travelers for subsequent delivery to the National Sanitary Regulation Authority (ANRS).
The rule also establishes that companies engaged in the manufacture, import, and export of tobacco products, including vaping products, and their derivatives in Nicaragua must register with the Health Regulation Directorate of the ANRS to carry out customs clearance of this type of merchandise under any customs regime.
Before this provision entered into force, the e-cigarette and vaporizer industry was unregulated.
September 21, 2022
Brazil Cracks Down on E-Cigarette Retail Sales
Credit: Sharaf Maksumov
Brazil’s Justice Department Thursday ordered 32 businesses to stop selling e-cigarettes. They have 48 hours to comply or face a $960 fine.
Vaping products have been banned in Brazil since 2009. However vaping products are still easily available, according to reports.
One of the businesses on the list is Carrefour, the country’s largest supermarket with over 1,000 stores, according to a media report.
In July, the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), voted to uphold the country’s e-cigarette brand.
A survey carried out in the first quarter of 2022 by the Vital Strategies organization and the Federal University of Pelotas, revealed that 19.7 percent of Brazilians aged between 18 and 24 have tried electronic cigarettes.
September 2, 2022
Malaysia’s Generational Tobacco Ban Clears Cabinet

Photo: PX Media
Malaysia’s Cabinet has approved the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill, reports The Star.
“I will be sending [the Bill] to Parliament for this session,” Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters during the presentation of a new drug perception study report on July 14.
Among other provisions, the bill calls for a ban on sales of cigarettes, tobacco and vapor products to those born after 2005.
The proposed law is modeled on legislation in New Zealand, which in December 2021 revealed a plan to phase out smoking by gradually raising the smoking age until it covers the entire population.
Presently, some 40.5 percent of men and 20 percent of women smoke in Malaysia.
July 17, 2022
Bangladesh Mulls Ban on E-Cigarettes and Pouches

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Bangladesh’ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare wants to amend the country’s tobacco act to ban e-cigarettes and oral nicotine pouches, reports The Business Standard. The proposal also includes new restrictions on combustible tobacco products.
Health activists have been calling for prohibition of e-cigarettes, which are not mentioned in the current legislation. The proposal would prohibit not only the consumption of vapor products, but also the production, import, export, storage, sale and transportation of e-cigarettes or their parts.
People caught vaping would face maximum fine of BDT5,000 ($53.80) under the plan, while producers and traders would risk imprisonment for a maximum of six months or a fine not exceeding BDT200,000 or both for the first time. The punishment would double each time the offence is repeated.
E-cigarettes started arriving informally in Bangladesh a few years ago and quickly became popular. As demand increased, British American Tobacco started producing and selling e-cigarettes in the market. Japan Tobacco is also reportedly preparing to market e-cigarettes in Bangladesh.
The health ministry’s proposal would also tighten restrictions on traditional tobacco products. Among other provisions, it includes a ban on flavors and an increase in the size of graphic health warnings to 90 percent of the packaging’s surface from the 50 percent required under current legislation. The draft also foresees new retail licensing requirements and limitation on where tobacco can be sold.
The health ministry has recently sent copies of the draft to stakeholders. The Directorate General of Health Services is accepting opinions on the draft until July 14.
June 28, 2022
Mexico Bans All Vaping and E-Cigarette Products

Credit: Niro World
Mexico has banned all vaping and heated tobacco products. A decree signed Tuesday by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that outlaws the sale of e-cigarettes is in line with continuing the government’s ongoing anti-vaping policy. Heated tobacco products are not exempt from the ban as previously reported they would.
The decision also follows a maximum health alert issued by the country’s federal health risks commission, which declared that all alternative tobacco smoking products can cause major illness, according to El Pais. Federal and local authorities have launched several campaigns to locate and seize these devices in at least a dozen states.
Mexico had already prohibited imports of the devices since at least October. And even before that, consumer protection and other laws had been used to discourage sales, according to the Associated Press.
Despite Tuesday’s decree, many Mexicans import or buy vaping cartridges or fluid under the table or online domestically. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López Gatell lashed out at industry claims that vaping is safer than smoking, calling it “a big lie.”
The health alerts and legal measures have prompted a debate about vaping devices that are being smuggled into the country, according to El Pais. During the Senate debate about the tax law, Senator Luis Ortiz proposed regulating the market, saying that distribution is being left to the black market in the absence of companies being able to import the products and pay taxes and salaries.
Credit: 5m3 Photos
The government’s own figures estimate that at least 5 million Mexicans have tried vaping at least once.
Although the legal market for vaping products has grown in the country, it still represents a tiny fraction compared to that of conventional cigarettes. Philip Morris International, one of the marketers of these alternatives, went from having 35,000 to nearly 42,000 users of tobacco heaters. According to official government estimates, in the last five years the tobacco industry increased its sales from about 846 to 1.2 billion pesos (about $64 million) a year.
At the same time, according to a study carried out by the Mexican federation of business chambers, illegal tobacco represents 19 percent of the total market. Between 2019 and 2020, although there was an increase in tobacco taxes due to the Special Tax on Products and Services (IEPS), payment of the taxes contracted due to the trade in counterfeit tobacco products.
One of the arguments used to ban all types of vaporizer devices, whether with or without nicotine, is that various flavorings are used to “hook children and adolescents who will later be consumers of other drugs,” Senator Lilia Valdez said before the bill’s approval, according to El Pais.
Andrea Constantini, head of Regional Scientific Engagement for Latin America and Canada at Philip Morris International, says that the ban creates more channels for minors to access unregulated products. Prohibitions, she says, simply lead to a further “lack of control” over the market, with minors acquiring products of varying quality through illicit channels.

June 1, 2022
Macau Mulls More E-Cig Restrictions, Considers Ban

Credit: Jakarta Travel
Macau’s executive council wants to ban the production, sale, distribution, import, export and transport of vapor products in the special administrative region (SAR), reports Macau Business.
Under changes proposed to the tobacco control law, violators would risk fines of MOP4,000 ($500).
The current law defines an e-cigarette as any product, or component thereof, that can be used to inhale vapor, with or without nicotine, by means of a mouthpiece, including a cartridge, a reservoir, as well as the device without a cartridge or reservoir.
The sale of electronic cigarettes in the city has been restricted since 2017; the recently proposed amendment expands the scope of the restrictions.
Still, Health Bureau Director Alvis Lo said the measure was intended to protect public health. “The use of electronic cigarettes is harmful to health, namely, it causes harmful effects to pregnant women, children and adolescents, and also exposing non-smokers to nicotine and other harmful chemicals,” Lo said.
Following years of antismoking campaigns, consumption of traditional cigarettes among people over the age of 15 in Macau dropped to 10.7 percent in 2019.
May 30, 2022
First City in Taiwan Drafts Rules to Ban Vapor Products
The New Taipei City Council on Thursday approved an ordinance to ban the sale of e-cigarettes. If approved by the Executive Yuan, the legislation would make New Taipei the first of the nation’s six special municipalities to impose such a ban if it is approved.
Credit: Busara
The draft regulation prohibits manufacturing, importation, sale, display and advertising of vaping devices, and heated tobacco products and components without an individual drug or medical device license issued by the city government, according to the Taipei Times. Violators of the ban would be fined NT$10,000 to NT$100,000, and sales licenses of repeat offenders would be suspended, the draft regulation states.
It also prohibits people under the age of 18 to use smoking devices banned from sale in the city and violators of the rule must attend smoking cessation classes, and those who fail to attend the classes would be fined NT$2,000 to NT$10,000. New Taipei City Department of Health Director Chen Ran-chou said that the ordinance seeks to protect people from the health risks of e-cigarettes and safeguard public health.
The draft regulation was sent to the Executive Yuan and would take effect three months after it is approved, she said. The Taipei City Council is also reviewing a similar draft regulation, which is expected to clear the council next week.
On the national level, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has proposed an amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, seeking to raise the legal age for smoking from 18 to 20 and regulating e-cigarettes and related products. That amendment would move to the legislature for approval if approved by the Executive Yuan.
April 30, 2021
Chicago Suburb Wants to Ban Sales of ENDS Products
A suburb of Chicago is considering a temporary ban on the sale of vaping products. The board for the Village of Vernon Hills voted Monday to draft a moratorium that, depending on the formal language approved, could limit the types of flavored tobacco and vape products businesses can apply to sell for in town.
Credit: Vaporesso

The decision was part of a broader discussion to possibly ban the sale of such products within the village, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. Board members opted to put that discussion on the back burner until the board and residents can meet in person to hear out both sides of the issue, choosing a moratorium as a stopgap until the discussion could take place.
At the meeting, village staff presented information that broke down what businesses would be impacted if such an ordinance were passed. Village Manager Mark Fleischhauer reported that 15 businesses within town are licensed to sell tobacco and vaping products.
About half those businesses sell flavored products, with one business in particular, Artisan’s Vaping, selling it as their main focal point, Fleischhauer said. While nothing is formal on any ban, trustees kicked around the idea of a grandfather clause if such a thing materialized.
As for the moratorium, officials said there are a few potential ways the ordinance can be written. The range of potential products that could be impacted includes flavored tobacco, flavored vaping or e-cigarettes, to vaping products as a whole, officials at the meeting said.
Trustees will discuss the options at their next committee of the whole meeting, with an eye on passing the moratorium at the board meeting that follows.
The discussion to potentially ban flavored tobacco products was sparked at the village’s last meeting in December, where they received a presentation from a resident that cited the harms and risks associated with using said products, particularly with youth.
During the meeting Monday, Trustee James Schultz took issue with the possibility of a ban, saying the product is legal in the state. He added that the village has done a good job of not allowing flavored and vaping products to be sold to minors.
“Does that mean we shouldn’t be issuing liquor licenses because more people die and start drinking at a young age?” Schultz said. “This is a bridge too far for me.”
The board also received a comment on the matter from a resident. The comment stated it was unfair for a discussion of a potential ban to be taking place without those who sell vape products knowing or having a chance to give their thoughts.
The City of Chicago attempted to ban all flavors of vaping products except tobacco and menthol. It has been sent back to committee. The cities of Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach, California were the first two cities in the U.S. to ban the sale of vapor products.
January 7, 2021
Saudi Arabia Ends Unlicensed Imports of E-cigarettes

Credit: Yasmine Arfaoui
Saudi Customs have banned the import of shisha, e-cigarettes and all vapor accessories through shipping companies and individuals’ websites.
In the event that they are imported, they would be confiscated, a fine imposed, and a record of seizure will be registered. Companies licensed by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) are allowed to import such products in commercial quantities, according to an article posted on albawaba.com.
Saudi Customs also announced three avenues that enable a licensed importer to claim a refund of customs duties. “Re-exporting foreign goods abroad, goods that had a material error, technical errors or errors in evaluation; and goods for which an industrial exemption decision was issued”, via the portal “Faseh.”
According to the mechanisms for exempting goods returned for export abroad, Saudi Customs have stipulated five reasons for reimbursement of their duties. “Re-exporting them within a calendar year from the date of payment of customs duties, the claim for refund of customs duties is made within six months from the date of re-export, the goods should be from one consignment, it should not be used locally, the value of the taxes levied is not less than SR18,750 ($5,000), and the exporter is also the importer or any other person when it is proven to the Saudi Customs that he has purchased them.”
The owners of the goods in which a material error, technical errors, or errors in the evaluation occurred, will be able to apply for the refund of customs duties by “obsolescence”. Saudi Customs confirmed that the application for refund of customs duties for goods for which an industrial exemption decision has been issued requires that “the unified importer’s number in the customs declaration is identical with the unified importer’s number mentioned in the exemption decision.”
September 1, 2020