Parliamentary perspective: Difficult to control new generation cigarettes due to lack of sanctions

Currently, there are new generation tobacco products on the market, of which the two most popular types are called heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes.

Products New generation cigarettes are very toxic, with immediate and long-term harmful effects. However, in Vietnam, the handling of smuggling and trading of new generation cigarettes faces many obstacles due to the lack of regulations and insufficient sanctions. Completing legal policies to effectively prevent and combat the harmful effects of tobacco is an urgent requirement raised by National Assembly deputies when discussing the socio -economic situation at the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly.

National Assembly Representative Ta Van Ha ( Quang Nam delegation) said that this product was introduced to Vietnam for a short time but has developed rapidly and widely. In particular, this product is easily exploited to be soaked with drugs and addictive substances; targeting young people.

Worryingly, it is not difficult to find these products on the market, even right in front of school gates; the products are also advertised and sold openly on social networks. “According to the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, new generation cigarettes are not yet included in the definition of Vietnamese cigarettes. Therefore, there is a legal gap for new generation tobacco products,” said delegate Ta Van Ha.

Heated tobacco products include heated tobacco cigarettes and cigarette heating devices. Heated tobacco cigarettes are made entirely or partially from tobacco materials, including a mixture of processed tobacco by-products such as tobacco leaves... When used, the cigarette is heated by an electronic device and produces a vapor (aerosol) containing nicotine and other chemicals.

Electronic cigarettes include e-cigarette solution and e-cigarette solution heating device; providing nicotine to users through electronic devices that vaporize e-cigarette solution, creating a vapor (aerosol) containing nicotine and other ingredients. According to medical experts, nicotine in new generation e-cigarette products is a strong addictive substance, making users dependent on these products, while causing many negative consequences for health.

The Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms does not specifically mention and does not have a definition for new-generation tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. In addition, the business of new-generation tobacco products is not currently a prohibited investment and business sector as prescribed in Article 6 of the 2020 Investment Law; at the same time, there are no legal provisions prohibiting the production and trading of new-generation tobacco products. Therefore, for organizations and individuals who produce and trade in new-generation tobacco products, agencies and functional forces have no basis to apply legal provisions to handle administrative or criminal cases against the production and trading of prohibited goods.

In reality, due to the lack of policies and legal regulations on unified management of new generation tobacco products, currently, the authorities can only impose administrative sanctions on organizations and individuals trading in new generation tobacco products for trading in smuggled goods or trading in goods of unknown origin.

This is the main reason why the effectiveness of preventing and controlling the business of new generation cigarettes is not high. In the coming time, along with promoting propaganda about the harmful effects of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, the important and urgent thing to do is to urgently develop a management policy for new generation cigarettes.

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