Will E-cigarettes See A Decline in 2025? Southeast Asia Is Tightening Its Policies.

On May 27th, the mayor of Johor Bahru, Malaysia, proposed an astonishing policy: suggesting that all municipal government officials should be prohibited from using e-cigarettes.
This is another new policy following Malaysia's proposal to completely ban e-cigarettes in Kelantan State. In fact, starting from Thailand, a series of intense law enforcement and legislative actions are rapidly spreading throughout Southeast Asia. Over the past few years, Southeast Asia briefly became an important market for global e-cigarette brands seeking "regulatory gray areas". Now, these cracks are being sealed one by one by a series of new policies. Just a few days ago, the Thai customs seized over 22,000 e-cigarette devices in a month, with multiple border checkpoints and courier channels becoming the focus of crackdowns. I asked some practitioners in Thailand that the shortage situation has persisted for several months, and even customers have come to purchase from my store. Now, as long as there are goods, they are sold immediately, but most of them get stuck at customs. What is more notable is that this round of regulatory storm is not just "surface restrictions",Rather, it involves a comprehensive and sweeping control covering the entire chain of production, sales, transportation, advertising, and even industrial investment.. This means that the e-cigarette market in Southeast Asia may no longer have the imagined growth potential. We have reviewed the latest key policies of each country in 2025 and will show you the details of this "regulatory encirclement".

Thailand： A True Comprehensive Crackdown
In 2025, Thailand's attitude towards e-cigarettes can be described as "地毯式封堵". The law enforcement actions are intense： from late February to early March, the Thai police launched a week-long concentrated crackdown operation, solving 666 cases, arresting 690 people, and seizing nearly 455,000 e-cigarette products, with a value of over 41 million Thai baht (about 8.72 million RMB). Additionally, according to the Bangkok Post on May 27th, the customs seized over 22,000 e-cigarette devices in just one month, with multiple border checkpoints and courier channels becoming the focus of crackdowns. Policy implementation： The Thai cabinet approved five anti-smoking measures by the National Health Commission in May, including： designating schools as e-cigarette-free zones, prohibiting online promotion, restricting media display, and strengthening law enforcement in public places, marking the entry of e-cigarette regulation into a new stage.

Vietnam： From Prohibition to Criminal Conviction

Vietnam's actions are more thorough - a complete ban, criminal prosecution. Full regional ban： Since 2025, Vietnam has completely banned the production, sale, import, transportation, advertising, and promotion of e-cigarettes and related products, and any tobacco-related publicity will be held criminally responsible. Crackdown on drug chain： The Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam stated that it has investigated multiple underground production cases of e-cigarettes mixed with drugs, and will intensify the crackdown on the entire "drug-related e-cigarettes" chain. This ban has made Vietnam the first Southeast Asian country to completely draw a line on e-cigarettes in the legal sense, forming a guiding trend for the region's increasingly strict policies.

Malaysia： New law implemented, enforcement unknown
In October 2024, Malaysia officially implemented the "Public Health Smoking Products Control Act" (No. 852), covering e-cigarette sales, packaging, advertising, and public place prohibition. The second phase was launched in April 2025. Policy progress： The law clearly requires all e-cigarette products to be registered and filed, with related ingredients, labels, and sales channels subject to regulation. Realistic challenges： Malaysia's situation is slightly better, e-cigarettes remain legal and compliant, but currently, the media is focusing on reporting news of users smoking psychoactive e-cigarettes, such as reports that cannabis extract-containing e-cigarette products can still be easily purchased on social media platforms. Another issue is local city follow-up： In May 2025, the Johor Bahru City Council announced that all municipal government officials should be prohibited from using e-cigarettes and emphasized that it does not encourage public use, "If a public servant is found smoking e-cigarettes, they will be severely punished." Jilangdan, Dengjiaou and Jilatong have successively banned the sale of electronic cigarettes, and Jating state followed suit, aiming to achieve a "zero electronic cigarette" goal by 2026. From my current perspective, some electronic cigarette stores in the surrounding areas have begun to shrink, and many electronic cigarette stores have closed down, including the state of Johor that previously announced the ban on electronic cigarette stores, where electronic cigarettes can still be purchased offline. In summary, it can be said that what is said is done, but saying no does not equal doing it.

Philippines: Combating illegal tobacco products is included in routine tasks The electronic cigarette regulation in the Philippines, although no new legislation has been introduced, has been intensifying the enforcement efforts. Tax-led enforcement: The Internal Revenue Service announced in early 2025 that it would continue to carry out multiple surprise inspections to target illegal electronic cigarette warehouses and sales points, regardless of size. Policy high-level endorsement: President Marcos has repeatedly emphasized the importance of "tax integrity" and pointed out that the actions in 2024 have recovered over 110 million pesos in taxes (approximately 1.9 million US dollars). The regulatory logic in the Philippines leans more towards "tax stability", but combined with judicial measures, the deterrent effect is gradually emerging.

Singapore: Fine of over ten thousand dollars, strict checks on new arrivals As one of the countries with the strictest regulations, Singapore has no new laws but is constantly intensifying enforcement. Joint enforcement: From 2024 to 2025, the Health Sciences Authority, in collaboration with immigration management agencies, has seized over 41 million Singapore dollars worth of electronic cigarette products, prosecuted 60 sellers, and arrested 101 individuals who brought them into the country. Legal bottom line is clear: The maximum fine for possessing and using electronic cigarettes is 2000 Singapore dollars, and the fine for sellers is as high as 10,000 Singapore dollars, and they can be sentenced to six months in prison. For brand owners, Singapore has never truly "opened up", let alone gray areas. However, even so, many people still flock to it. Currently, the main purchasing method in Singapore is to drive to nearby cities in Malaysia, such as New Jersey, to purchase and then bring them back to Singapore, which has led to the electronic cigarette business in New Jersey, whether on the surface or underground, still being active.

Cambodia: Rejecting electronic cigarette manufacturing investment In May 2025, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen directly stated at the "National Cancer Prevention Plan" ceremony: "We reject setting up electronic cigarette manufacturing factories, this is not the investment direction we welcome." This means that Cambodia not only does not allow the circulation of electronic cigarettes, but also cuts off the industrial penetration path from the investment source. In the international brand "spill over to Southeast Asia" plan, Cambodia has clearly marked the red line. Conclusion: The heavy regulatory hammer has landed, the electronic cigarette market in Southeast Asia, "no dividends, but opportunities" From the consecutive crackdowns in Thailand, to the comprehensive ban on sales in Vietnam; from the phased legislation in Malaysia, to the "zero tolerance enforcement" in Singapore, the electronic cigarette market in Southeast Asia is facing an unprecedented systemic tightening. To be honest, in my opinion, after the rapid development of electronic cigarettes in Southeast Asia in the past few years, now the ban on electronic cigarettes has turned into a political correctness performance show, countries are eager to introduce various restrictive policies, but too many restrictions will instead breed the activity of the black market. But please don't think that the Southeast Asian market has collapsed. In fact, as the most active emerging market in the world, the demand for electronic cigarettes in the entire Southeast Asia has not stopped and has continued to grow. At present, the government's actions are more of a "overcompensation" for the previous overabundance, It's not a complete eradication.