E-cigarette ban summary: a summary of policies restricting e-cigarettes in US states and countries around the world

E-cigarette ban summary: a summary of policies restricting e-cigarettes in US states and countries around the world

Governments around the world have varying attitudes toward e-cigarettes and nicotine. In the UK, government health agencies largely encourage the use of e-cigarettes. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has had authority over vaping products since 2016, has refused to create a simple system of standards for e-cigarettes and e-liquids.

 

In recent years, some U.S. states have imposed flavor and online sales bans. Canada followed the British model for a short time, but recently imposed nicotine strength limits and extreme flavor limits.

 

More than 40 countries have some form of ban on e-cigarettes. Here we list flavor and online sales bans by state in the US, as well as sales and use bans enforced in other countries.

 

US bans flavored e-cigarettes and online sales

 

The FDA has federal authority to regulate vaping products. In September 2020, the agency began reviewing premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) and said it would not authorize flavored products without specific evidence. Whether the agency will succeed in creating an unwritten standard to eliminate legally flavored products (other than tobacco and menthol) may be determined in federal court.

 

Most vaping bans in the U.S. happen at the state and local levels. While some cities in California — notably San Francisco — have banned the sale of all vaping products, most U.S. vaping restrictions involve flavors and online sales. While state legislatures have proposed a plethora of vaping bans in recent years, there have been only a few of each -- proving that bad legislation can be stopped by grassroots opposition.

 

Arkansas – Online sales are prohibited, tobacco licenses issued to Arkansas businesses only allow in-person transactions, so online sales are prohibited

 

California – Flavor Ban (suspended until 2022), the California Legislature passed (and signed by the Governor) a law banning all “flavored tobacco” (including e-cigarettes) in August 2020. However, following a massive signature-gathering campaign, the law is being implemented until the state's voters decide whether to approve it in a November 2022 referendum. The law, if passed, would ban all flavored e-cigarettes except tobacco

 

Maine - Online Sales Ban, Maine prohibits online sales except between licensed businesses

 

Massachusetts – Flavor Ban, the first statewide flavor ban was passed by Massachusetts in late 2019. It includes all tobacco products and bans the sale of all vaping flavors except tobacco

 

New Jersey - Flavor Ban, New Jersey's ban covers all flavors except tobacco. Realizing how much tax revenue the state would lose, lawmakers decided not to ban menthol cigarettes. Governor signs flavor ban and tax increase on vaping products, but vetoes additional 20 mg/mL nicotine strength limit

 

New York – Flavor Ban + Online Sales Ban, the New York Flavor Ban covering all flavors except tobacco was passed in April 2020. The state also simultaneously passed a ban on online sales (all vaping products)

 

Oregon – Online Sales Ban, Oregon prohibits online sales except between licensed businesses

 

Rhode Island – Flavor Ban, March 2020, then-Governor Gina Raimondo bypassed the state legislature and used the Department of Health to impose a permanent ban on all vaping flavors except tobacco

 

South Dakota – Online Sales Ban, South Dakota bans delivery of all tobacco products (including e-cigarettes)

 

Utah – Online Sales Ban, Utah prohibits online sales except between licensed businesses

 

Vermont – Online Sales Ban, Vermont prohibits online sales, except between licensed businesses

 

Major cities banning flavors include Chicago, IL; Los Angeles (effective 2023), San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, and San Jose, CA; and Boulder, CO. Hundreds of smaller cities and counties (mainly in California) had flavor bans, and some large city bans were later superseded by state bans (such as New York City and Newark, NJ)

 

Some smaller cities in San Francisco and California have completely banned the sale of vaping products, and countries that ban the sale or use of vaping products

 

In some countries, vaping is completely illegal, both for sale and possession. Bans are most prevalent in Asia, the Middle East and South America. Australia has a strange model of prescription-only vaping products, and unauthorized importation can result in hefty fines. Nicotine vaping products are illegal in Japan, but heated tobacco products like IQOS are perfectly legal and widely available.

 

Some countries ban the use and sale entirely, others just the sale, and still others only products that contain nicotine. In many countries, laws are ignored and black markets thrive. In other cases, they are enforced (but those still have a black market). If a country is not listed, then vaping is either allowed, regulated, or has no specific laws governing vaping (which is the case for now anyway).

 

Antigua and Barbuda: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Argentina: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Australia: Legal to use, illegal to possess nicotine without a doctor's prescription. Illegal importation of nicotine can be fined up to $222,000. Penalties for possession vary by state, but can also be very severe

 

Bangladesh: Bangladesh currently has no laws or regulations specific to e-cigarettes. However, in 2021, the government announced that it would update the country’s tobacco control laws to ban the sale of e-cigarettes outright.

 

Bhutan: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Brazil: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Brunei Darussalam: Legal use, illegal sale

 

Cambodia: Prohibited: Illegal use, Illegal sale

 

Chile: Legal use, illegal sale (except approved medical products)

 

Colombia: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Timor-Leste: Believed to be banned

 

Egypt: Legal to use, illegal to sell – though the country may be on the brink of regulating vaping products

 

Ethiopia: Considered legal for use, illegal for sale

 

Gambia: Considered illegal to use, illegal to sell

 

Hong Kong, China: legal use, illegal sale. The ban on the sale, import, manufacture and promotion of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products takes effect on April 30, 2022.

 

India: Legal use, illegal sale. In September 2019, the central government of India banned the sale of vaping products. Knowing well that 100 million Indians smoke and that tobacco kills nearly a million people a year, the government has done nothing to reduce access to cigarettes. Not coincidentally, the Indian government owns a significant portion of the country's largest tobacco company

 

Iran: Considered legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Jamaica: Legal use, illegal sale of nicotine-containing products without medical authorization

 

Japan: Legal to use, legal to sell devices and zero-nicotine e-juice, but illegal to sell nicotine-containing liquids (although individuals can import nicotine-containing products, with some restrictions). Heated Tobacco Products (HTP) Like IQOS Are Legal And Very Popular

 

Kuwait: Considered legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Laos: Illegal use, illegal sale

 

Lebanon: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Malaysia: Legal use, illegal sale of nicotine-containing products. Although consumer sales of nicotine-containing products are illegal, Malaysia has a thriving e-cigarette market. Authorities occasionally raid retailers and seize products. The states of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Penang and Terengganu have completely banned the sale of all vaping products (even those without nicotine)

 

Mauritius: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Mexico: Legal to use, illegal to sell. The President of Mexico issued a decree in May 2022 banning the sale of all e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The law includes nicotine-free products

 

Myanmar: Considered banned

 

Nepal: legal to use, possibly illegal to sell (although the government itself seems unsure)

 

Nicaragua: Considered illegal to use, illegal to sell

 

North Korea: Banned

 

Oman: Considered legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Panama: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Qatar: Prohibited: Illegal Use, Illegal Sale

 

Seychelles: Legal to use, illegal to sell. However, the country announced in 2019 its intention to legalize and regulate vaping

 

Singapore: Prohibited: Illegal use, Illegal sale. As of 2018, possession of e-cigarettes is a crime punishable by fines and even jail time. However, the threat of prosecution has not stopped a thriving black market

 

Sri Lanka: Legal use, illegal sale

 

Suriname: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Syria: Prohibited: Illegal Use, Illegal Sale

 

Thailand: Considered legal to use, illegal to sell. Thailand, which has built a reputation for enforcing a ban on the import and sale of vaping products, has seen several high-profile incidents in recent years, including the detention and even deportation of vaping tourists

 

Timor-Leste: Legal use, illegal sale

 

Türkiye: Legal use, illegal import. Importing vaping products is illegal in Turkey, and when the country reaffirmed its ban in 2017, the World Health Organization issued a press release cheering the decision. But Turkey has contradictory laws, Turkey has a vaping market and a vaping community

Turkmenistan: Considered legal for use, illegal for sale

 

Uganda: Legal use, illegal sale

 

US: Legal to use, legal to sell—but starting September 9, 2021, selling products without FDA authorization is technically illegal. While no state has outright banned the sale of vaping products, many have banned flavored products or online sales. Some cities in California, notably San Francisco, have banned the sale of all e-cigarettes

 

Uruguay: Legal to use, illegal to sell

 

Vatican City: considered prohibited

 

Venezuela: Legal to use, considered illegal to sell unless approved as a medical product