What is the current policy on the e-cigarette industry in various regions of the world?

2023-03-13

Costa Rica - Allowed. Import, sale and use are permitted and regulated as tobacco products. All transactions must be age verified (adults 18+ only). Advertising is not permitted. Use in public places is restricted.

Czech Republic - Allowed. The import, sale, use and sale of e-cigarettes are unrestricted.

Estonia - Allowed.

European Union - Allowed. Import, sale, use and advertisement are permitted.

Germany - Allowed. Import, sale and use are permitted. Supreme courts in two states have ruled that e-cigarettes and refills are not drugs under the Drug Act or the Medical Device Act. Germany is one of the countries with the most relaxed regulatory measures for e-cigarettes. There are no special taxes on vaping, no regulations on cross-border sales, and only slight restrictions on advertising.

Indonesia - Allowed. The Indonesian government said it would impose taxes of up to 57 percent on non-tobacco alternatives, including e-cigarettes, starting in summer 2018.

Israel - Allowed. Import and sale are allowed.

Italy - Allowed. Import, sale and use are unrestricted. The sale of e-cigarettes (only for nicotine-containing e-liquids) is prohibited for persons under the age of 18.

Ireland - Allowed. Import, sale and use are permitted.

South Korea - Allowed. Here e-cigarettes are considered tobacco products and are subject to tobacco control legislation. Taxes are high, and reports show that e-cigarette retail prices in South Korea are among the highest in the world. HNB products are very popular.

Latvia - Allowed. E-cigarettes can be sold to anyone over the age of 18.

Malta - Allowed. Considered a tobacco product, sale and use is permitted, but e-cigarettes fall under the scope of the Tobacco Act. They cannot be advertised, cannot be used in enclosed public spaces, and are only intended for use by adults over the age of 18.

Netherlands - Allowed. Import, sale and use are permitted. The government attempted a blanket ban but was legally overturned: The Gravenhage court in the Netherlands legalized the import and sale of e-cigarettes and nicotine-containing e-liquids in a civil court case.

Poland - Allowed. Import, sale and use are permitted.

Russia - allowed. Import, sale and use are permitted.

Tajikistan - Allowed. The sale and use of e-cigarettes is currently unrestricted.

Ukraine - allowed, with restrictions

United Kingdom - Allowed. Import, sale, advertisement and use are permitted. There are some restrictions on advertising. As far as we know, the UK is currently the only country in the world where e-cigarettes are fully and effectively regulated. The maximum nicotine content in e-juice allowed in the UK is 20mg/ml, and bottles may contain more nicotine content than 10ml of liquid and must be child-resistant and tamper-resistant. The volume of the nebulizer sold cannot exceed 2ml.

United States - Allowed. Import, sale, advertisement and use are permitted. The U.S. FDA has strengthened regulations on e-cigarette sales this year to control the abuse of e-cigarettes among young people, and has required e-cigarette manufacturers to remove flavored e-cigarettes from physical stores.

Armenia - Allowed. The sale of e-cigarettes and liquids with and without nicotine is not regulated. In 2018, Philip Morris International (PMI), started sales of its revolutionary smoke-free product iQOS in Armenia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Allowed. Nicotine-containing pods are not classified as tobacco products, so their sale is not regulated.

Bulgaria - Allowed. The sale and use of e-cigarettes and pods containing nicotine are legal.

Romania - Allowed. The sale and use of e-cigarettes is legal.

Sweden - Allowed. Selling e-cigarettes is legal to anyone, but selling nicotine liquid to minors under the age of 18 is illegal.

Switzerland - Allowed. In 2018, local Swiss businesses successfully challenged the illegality of nicotine-containing liquids in federal court, immediately lifting the ban and selling nicotine liquids nationwide, as well as in neighboring Liechtenstein, which follows the same law.

New Zealand - Allowed. E-cigarettes have been legalized. Philip Morris International's IQOS new tobacco product using heat-not-burn technology has officially embarked on the road of legalization in New Zealand.

France - Allowed. E-cigarettes and nicotine liquids are considered consumer products subject to the General Product Safety Regulations unless they meet the criteria for a medical license. Bans the sale of e-cigarettes to persons under the age of 18, as well as the sale of pods with or without nicotine.
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