Many countries have banned or are considering banning e-cigarettes.
It is known that in the ASEAN region, there are 5 countries that have completely banned e-cigarettes: Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Brunei, Cambodia. In the world, some European countries are also considering banning disposable e-cigarettes. Online sales of disposable e-cigarettes are banned in Belgium and a national consultation on a ban is underway in Ireland. In Germany, the government has banned flavored e-cigarettes and warned that this may be just the beginning.
Australia has also taken the toughest measures yet, banning the use of disposable e-cigarettes, stopping the importation of over-the-counter versions, limiting nicotine levels in e-cigarettes and limiting flavours. E-cigarettes are now only available in pharmacies in pharmaceutical-grade packaging.
Similar steps have been taken in New Zealand, with a ban on most disposable e-cigarettes and restrictions on marketing to children, including banning e-cigarette shops near schools and introducing rules requiring generic flavour descriptions. The regulations, which came into effect in August this year, are designed to allow the sale of disposable e-cigarettes to continue for those who use them to quit smoking.
Research from Ireland shows that young people who use e-cigarettes are five times more likely to start smoking than those who don’t. In 2022, New Zealand’s smoking rate fell to 8% – one of the lowest in the world – but the increase in daily e-cigarette users still outpaced the decrease in daily smokers. The number of New Zealand year 10 students (around 14 years old) who vaped daily tripled from 3.1% in 2019 to 9.6% in 2021.
Notably, according to the British newspaper The Guardian, the French government may ban single-use e-cigarettes before the end of this year. This ban, when enacted, will follow similar measures implemented in Germany, Australia and New Zealand amid growing concerns about the effects of e-cigarettes on human health.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has announced that disposable e-cigarettes will be banned in France as part of a national anti-smoking plan. She said the French government would soon introduce a new national plan to fight smoking, specifically banning disposable e-cigarettes, which have been known to encourage bad habits among young people and can lead to addiction.
Electronic cigarettes should be banned in Vietnam.
Although many countries in the world have taken "strong" measures to ban e-cigarettes, in Vietnam, this is still a difficult problem because there are many different opinions on whether to allow the circulation of e-cigarettes or not. The representative of the Ministry of Health requested an absolute ban on e-cigarettes because these products contain many toxic substances, are currently being traded illegally but the rate of use has tended to increase. If allowed to trade, there will be a risk of a sharp increase, attracting more young people and creating a new generation of nicotine addicts. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is researching and carefully evaluating scientific evidence related to the safety of e-cigarette solutions.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment's viewpoint is that the State currently does not have a specific management policy to control, limit, protect consumer health and tax loss, so it is necessary to develop legal documents to manage this product. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and Technology proposed to consider developing management regulations and pilot policies for electronic cigarettes as a basis for perfecting legal documents on electronic cigarette management in Vietnam.
While the authorities have not yet agreed on a policy to manage e-cigarettes, this product has led to many consequences such as: tax loss, products of unknown origin, uncontrolled ingredients and quality leading to health impacts...; not allowing circulation, the product will still flood the market, and the slower the management, the more conditions are created for smuggled and illegal goods with prices that are either very high or cheap, thereby creating many risks and dangers for public health.
According to survey results from 2017 to present, the rate of e-cigarette use has increased from 11.7% to more than 27% among middle and high school students. Health experts say that to prevent e-cigarette products from reaching young people, especially students, it is necessary to reduce young people's access to these products and ban the use of e-cigarettes. At the same time, it is necessary to promote communication about the harmful effects and health risks of e-cigarettes.
Furthermore, the characteristics of new generation tobacco products are different from those of traditional tobacco products, so the 2012 Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms cannot be applied to these products. When the National Assembly promulgated the 2012 Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, electronic cigarettes had not yet appeared, so the legal regulations on these tobacco products were not complete. Currently, the law has not been adjusted and according to current regulations, these tobacco products are not allowed to be produced, traded or imported into Vietnam. These products are classified as smuggled and smuggled tobacco products. If these products are sold on the market, they violate the regulations on prevention and control of smuggling, and if they are mixed with drugs, they violate the Law on Prevention and Control of Drugs.
Therefore, experts propose a group of solutions to amend laws and Government Decrees regulating tobacco, focusing on propaganda, advocacy and banning this product.
The Government has assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to research and develop appropriate regulations to manage new generation tobacco products, and submit them to the Prime Minister soon. However, before legalizing regulations related to the management of electronic cigarettes, in order to minimize its harmful effects, it is necessary to raise public awareness by promoting communication about the harmful effects and risks to health of the product on mass media and in schools; put this item on the list of prohibited and smuggled goods for inspection and strict handling if there are violations.
Compared to 2015, the rate of male smokers in 2020 decreased from 45.3% to 42.3%. The rate of tobacco use among young people aged 15-24 decreased from 26% (in 2015) to 13% (in 2020). Among students aged 13-15, the smoking rate also decreased from 2.5% in 2014 to 1.9% in 2022. However, research results show an alarming situation: while the rate of smoking conventional cigarettes decreased, the rate of using e-cigarettes increased rapidly, especially among young people. Specifically, according to the 2020 Survey, the rate of e-cigarette smoking among adults increased 18 times (from 0.2% in 2015 to 3.6% in 2020). According to the 2019 World Health Organization survey, the rate of e-cigarette use among 15-17 year old students in Vietnam is 2.6%. The 2022 survey on tobacco use among students shows that the rate of e-cigarette use among 13-15 year old students is 3.5%.
Source
![[Photo] Women in difficult circumstances in Hanoi receive free health check-ups](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/3/5/735d1025401b46f8b50117530c3afaba)
Comment (0)