Vape policy for Southeast Asian countries

With President Duterte's statement on the 19th that the vape will be banned from thunder, the Philippines' vape policy has also changed from legal to illegal. So, apart from the Philippines' vape ban, what other new policies do other Southeast Asian countries have for vapes?

1. Malaysia plans to regulate vape as a tobacco product.

News on October 31. In April last year, Malaysian Health Minister Datuk Seri announced a new bill stating that cigarettes and vape are currently regulated under different directives.

Under the Food Act 1983, cigarettes are regulated under the Tobacco Control Regulations 2004, while nicotine e-liquid is a Poisons Act 1952.

He said in the report that the new bill will highlight all vape and e-liquid regulations and controls, including sales guidelines.

The new bill may even address the country's tobacco contraband issue and will include all aspects of cigarettes and vape, including product ingredients, its manufacturing and the tobacco industry's supply chain. In addition, the measure will ban promotions and advertising, use in public places, and prohibit use by minors.

2. Vietnam ’s Ministry of Health recommends that vape be banned. Government: I do n’t care!

vape is classified as a tobacco product in Vietnam; vape is prohibited from being sold and marketed to minors; vapes have not been approved by the Ministry of Health and are prohibited in Vietnam. Vape smoking is prohibited in public, except in designated smoking areas.

According to the new steam report, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health said that in addition to strengthening cigarette control measures in the future, it will also recommend that the government put vape on a blacklist forbidden sales and use. At the same time, they have proposed plans to the government to raise taxes on tobacco products.

MoH officials said at the meeting that they will collect and evaluate the scientific basis and extent of the harm of new tobacco products to human health, draw on the management experience of new tobaccos such as vape and heated tobacco products in countries around the world, and suggest that the government ban vape. Sales and use.

Chu Xuan Kien, the head of the market management department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, believes that cases involving vape and other atomized products are very difficult because it is not clear whether law enforcement agencies should treat these devices as tobacco products. In addition, Vietnam does not have any specific rules for atomizing devices.

3. Thailand: It is illegal to carry, use, import, export, or sell vape in Thailand.

Thailand banned vape from the end of 2017 to the beginning of 2018. According to the current laws, it is illegal to carry, use, import, export, and sell vape in Thailand. Among them, the carrying and use of vape can be sentenced to a maximum of 5 years' imprisonment or a fine of not more than 500,000 baht (about 100,000 yuan), or a combination of both; for import, export and sales, the maximum sentence is 10 years or a fine. No more than 1 million baht, or both.

The Chinese embassy reminds Chinese citizens that Thailand is strictly prohibited from vape. Thai law enforcement agencies have continuously investigated and dealt with a number of vape dealers, and the persons involved have been held criminally responsible.

4. Indonesia increased the vape and e-liquid tax rate to 57%.

According to Steam Report in July 2018, the Indonesian government's financial department originally planned to increase the vape and e-liquid tax rate to 57% from July to increase the government's fiscal revenue in this regard. However, recently, the Indonesian government's financial department announced to the outside world that due to various factors, the original plan to increase tax on vape products and e-liquid from July 2018 was postponed to October 2018 for formal implementation.

According to statistics, there are currently more than 200 manufacturers and traders of new tobacco products in Indonesia.

On November 5, 2019, according to news from the Indonesian Economic Times, some anti-tobacco smokers in the country proposed to the government that the government should take the following measures to control the health risks caused by the sale of vape to the public: the government should control vape safety and quality standards, including vape e-liquid components and vape device components.

5. Vape is banned in Singapore.

Beginning in 2014, the Singapore government began to ban the import and sale of vape in the country. In December 2015, holding vape was criminalized.

Both the Singapore Ministry of Health and the Singapore Health Promotion Board are concerned that vape may foster public smoking habits, especially for young people.

The Singapore Health Sciences Authority said that importing, distributing and selling vape and vape accessories are illegal in Singapore. Any individual who sells vape illegally has a maximum fine of $ 5,000 for the first offense and a maximum fine of $ 10,000 for another offense.

6. Laos strictly prohibits the import and sale of vape.

On August 13, Lao Prime Minister Thonglun Sisuri agreed and signed a document that Laos banned the import and sale of vape, becoming the second country in Southeast Asia to embargo vape.

Authorities of the Lao Narcotics Division said that regarding the suppression of vape products, they will continue to cooperate with relevant departments to inspect the target stores to prevent the import and sale of vape and its equipment.

7. Brunei bans the sale of vape.

vape is classified as a tobacco imitation; vape is prohibited from being sold or imported; vape is prohibited in most public places and traffic settings

8. Cambodia bans the sale of vape.

The sale, import and use of vape is prohibited.