37 COUNTRIES1 BAN SELLING OF E-CIGARETTES

 

The sale/distribution of e-cigarettes2 is banned in the following thirty-seven (37) countries: Antigua and Barbuda*, Argentina, Australia, Bhutan*, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, India, Iran, Japan**, N. Korea*, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Qatar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Syria, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey*, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela*, Palestine***

 

73 COUNTRIES ALLOW SELLING OF E-CIGARETTES BUT PROVIDE SALES RESTRICTIONS/REGULATIONS

 

In seventy-three (73) countries that permit the sale of e-cigarettes, there are regulations around sale such as cross-border sale restrictions/regulations, restrictions in venues where they can be sold, access restrictions, or other restrictions:

Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Barbados**, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile*, China*, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia*, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica3, Jordan*, S. Korea, Laos**, Latvia, Liechtenstein*, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia*, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria*, Norway, Palau, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino*, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland4, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia*, Ukraine*, United Arab Emirates*, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam

 

36 COUNTRIES REGULATE NICOTINE (and/or OTHER) CONTENT/S OF E-CIGARETTES

 

Of the seventy-three (73) countries allowing the sale of e-cigarettes, at least thirty-six (36) are known to regulate the amount (concentration/volume) of nicotine in e-liquids. In the EU, the threshold concentration is 20mg/ml “AND” do not permit the use of ingredients (other than nicotine) that pose a risk to human health in heated or unheated form in nicotine-containing e-liquid: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary*, Iceland****, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein*, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino*, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

 

OTHERS:

There is no reliable information available in other countries and are hence, not listed here. E-cigarettes are found/ likely permitted in many African/ Latin American countries, although in many cases, there are no specific laws allowing/ disallowing the same.

 

SOURCES:

1. Global Tobacco Control website: https://www.globaltobaccocontrol.org/e-cigarette/domain-classification

2. Tobacco Control Laws: https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation

3. Information provided by country contacts

4. WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO EMRO) as of February 12, 2020 5. The Global State of Harm Reduction (GSTHR): https://gsthr.org/countries. †

 

* Included based on information from Burning issues: Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2020.

**Conflicting information found

*** Included based on information from Tobacco Control Laws by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

**** Included based on information from the Global Tobacco Control website.

† GSTHR of Knowledge-Action-Change has been found to have links to the tobacco industry, having received funds from Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), which is in turn wholly funded by Philip Morris International. For more information, see: https://tobaccotactics.org/wiki/knowledge-action-change/

 

1 Refers to sovereign states. Territories such as Hong Kong is not included in this listing.

2 Five (5) countries specifically prohibit the sale of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes: Australia, Costa Rica**, Japan, Mexico, Sri Lanka.

3 Importation is not allowed without permit from the health ministry, use in public places is banned.

4 A ban on sale was overturned by the courts as of Apr 2018 No information regarding appeal.