Tag: Taiwan

Taiwan Regulators Concerned About ‘Zombie Vapes’

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Taiwan authorities are concerned about the growing popularity of “zombie vapes,” e-cigarettes containing etomidate, reports The Taipei Times.
According to health experts, etomidate is a type of central nervous system depressant that can induce anesthesia. Abusing etomidate could lead to irritability, disorganized behavior, tremors, twitching or even death, explained Lin Yi-ching, a pediatrician at Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital.
From July to October, authorities seized 14,128 zombie vape cartridges, along with e-liquid and powders that could be made into more than 1.83 million cartridges worth about NTD4.6 billion ($143.33 million).
While etomidate is listed as a Category 3 narcotic, a review committee will consider whether to upgrade the drug to Category 2, Ministry of Justice Department of Prosecutorial Affairs Director-General Kuo Yung-fa said.
Overall e-cigarette use among junior high school students in Taiwan increased from 1.9 percent in 2017 to 3.9 percent in 2021, a HPA survey reported by Taiwan News showed. Among senior high school students, the rate rose from 3.4 percent to 8.8 percent during the same period.
Taiwan outlawed vapes in 2023, with violators risking fines of up to NTD10,000.
October 28, 2024
Taiwan Mulls Ban on 27 Kinds of Flavor Chemicals

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The Ministry of Health and Welfare wants to ban 27 types of chemicals from being used in tobacco products, vapes and heat-not-burn devices, reports The Taipei Times.
The list includes vanillin, maltol and heliotropin among other chemical compounds commonly used as additives in flavored tobacco products. Without these substances, manufacturers would be unable to produce popular flavors such as caramel, butter, almond, rose, coconut, raspberry, vanilla and cheese,
The new proposal would enable the ministry to remove more than half of flavored tobacco products from the market, according to Lo Su-ying, who heads the Health Promotion Agency’s Tobacco Control Division.
Under the draft rule, manufacturers and importers of products containing the banned substances would risk fines of between NTD1 million ($30,846) and NTD5 million, while sellers would incur penalties of between NTD10,000 and NTD50,000.
The government will subject the proposal to a 60-day public consultation.
August 9, 2024
Taiwan: No Approved Vape, Heated Tobacco Devices

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Taiwan’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) has reminded suppliers and consumers that it has not approved any e-cigarettes or tobacco heating products (HTPs), reports the Taipei Times.
The warning came after security footage showed a lawmaker using a THP in the legislature’s corridors.
Novel tobacco and nicotine products require government approval in Taiwan. To date, the HPA has received applications for authorization for HTPs from 12 companies. It has rejected the applications of eight, while two of the remaining four have been asked to furnish additional information.
The HPA has a panel of toxicology, public health and addiction experts to assess requests for authorized use of THPs. The panel has so far convened 30 meetings.
Taiwanese law punishes the manufacture, import, sale, supply, display or advertisement of unauthorized novel tobacco products by a maximum penalty of TWD5 million ($152,263), while users may be fined TWD10,000.
July 30, 2024
Taiwan Group Protests Heated Tobacco Regulations

The Clean Air Alliance has called on the Taiwanese public to join a protest in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei March 22, 2024, against heated tobacco regulations that benefit traditional cigarette manufacturers, reports The Taipei Times.
The group states that though its been a year since the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act was amended, heated-tobacco products cannot be sold legally but 14 new types of traditional paper-wrapped cigarettes have been approved for sale.
The alliance noted that the review standards for heated-tobacco products and traditional cigarettes are disparate and unfair toward heated-tobacco products, which benefits cigarette manufacturers.
Police have put traffic restrictions in place in the area due to the protest.
The protest is set to begin at 9 a.m. and end by noon.
March 22, 2024
Taiwan Warns Visitors of Fines for HnB Products

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Individuals visiting Taiwan who bring heated tobacco products into the country could be subject to a maximum fine of NT$5 million ($161,186), the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) warned Tuesday.
The fine will be imposed whether the products are brought in for the traveler’s own recreational use or were bought on behalf of somebody else, the HPA said in a statement.
Under a revision of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act that took effect in March, new tobacco products, such as heat-not-burn (HnB) or heated tobacco products (HTPs), and the components necessary for their use, are banned in Taiwan unless they have been approved after a health risk assessment by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), according to Focus Taiwan.
Only if they are approved can they be manufactured or imported, the HPA said. To date, no HTP has been approved by the MOHW, according to the health promotion body.
Liu Chia-hsiu, an official with the HPA’s Tobacco Control Division, said the manufacture, import, sale, supply, display, advertising and use of designated tobacco products that have not been approved could be subject to a fine of up to NT$50 million.
The fine for bringing heated tobacco products into the country is between NT$50,000 and NT$5 million, Liu said, while the penalty for those caught using them is NT$2,000 to NT$10,000.
While vaping products are banned, lawmakers said HnB products would be regulated.
June 28, 2023
Police in Taiwan Seize $227,000 Worth of E-Liquids

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Police in Taiwan have seized over 240,000 bottles of nicotine-containing e-liquid and nine barrels of semi-finished product with an estimated market value of over NT$7 million ($226,908). Police on Tuesday said the product was confiscated earlier this year.
The illegal product was discovered at stores in Kaohsiung and Tainan, according to police, and it had been imported from China. Legislative amendments passed in March make the sale of vaping and heated tobacco products illegal in Taiwan, according to Taiwan News. The new rules introduced fines of up to NT$10,000 for users and NT$50 million for importers, manufacturers, and sellers.
Police investigations found the product was being sold through both stores and LINE groups, but only to customers who had previously bought the e-liquid.
June 20, 2023
Taiwan Boosts E-Cig Investigations After New Rules

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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.
April 26, 2023
Numerous Vape Shops Close After Taiwan Vape Ban

Credit: Yao Photograph
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.
The amended regulations to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act ban e-cigarettes entirely, raise the smoking age to 20 and increase penalties for violators.
According to the new regulations, manufacturing or importing e-cigarettes is punishable by a fine of up to NT$50 million ($1.65 million). Advertising agencies, media, and advertisers are subject to a maximum fine of NT$2 million if they are caught advertising unsanctioned tobacco products.
Selling or displaying unsanctioned tobacco products is punishable by a maximum fine of NT$1 million. The fine for supplying novel tobacco products and their paraphernalia is NT$10,000 to NT$250,000, and vaping is punishable by a fine between NT$2,000 and NT$10,000.
April 12, 2023
Taiwan Tightens Rules, Boosts Fines for Vaping

The National Police Agency confirmed to Taiwan News on Thursday that police can now issue on-the-spot fines of up to NT$10,000 ($330) to those caught vaping after Taiwan’s legislature passed amendments to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act on Wednesday.
E-cigarette users can either be fined on the spot, or photo and video evidence can be used by the government to send the fines to violators’ registered addresses, similar to fines currently issued for smoking in non-smoking areas, jaywalking, and other minor offenses.
The fine for vaping is now the same as for smoking in areas designated as non-smoking, between NT$2000 and NT$10,000.
The amendments passed on Wednesday also increase the legal age for purchasing cigarettes from 18 to 20, and prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Importers, manufacturers, and sellers can now be fined up to NT$50 million.
March 23, 2023
Taiwan Bans Vaping, Heat-not-Burn to be Regulated

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Lawmakers in Taiwan passed a ban on vaping products for its third legislative reading Thursday. The measure was necessary to address the increasing popularity of vaping products with the country’s youths, according to officials.
The sale, manufacture, and supply of e-cigarettes will be outlawed, however, heated tobacco products (HTPs) will only be subjected to tighter regulation, according to an amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, according to media reports.
Manufacturers or importers of HTPs will have to submit a health risk evaluation report for review before they can receive a permit. The advertising of heating tobacco products will be banned, wrote CNA.
Other changes involve raising the legal smoking age from 18 to 20, increasing the proportion of tobacco package warning messages from 35 percent to 50 percent, and designating childcare centers as well as schools as no-smoking/no-vaping areas.
The move is hailed as a partial victory for anti-tobacco groups after years of calls for stricter control of cigarettes and novel tobacco products. The last time the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act was amended in Taiwan was in 2009.
Among the contentious parts of the amendment is how flavored tobacco products are to be regulated. Critics say the change is not bold enough as it only prohibits the use of banned additives, but this can present a loophole as the terminology is vague, wrote UDN.
January 13, 2023