Venezuela Becomes The Third South American Country To Fully Ban E-Cigarettes
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Venezuela Becomes the Third South American Country to Fully Ban E-Cigarettes
The Venezuelan Ministry of Health has recently issued a resolution that prohibits the manufacture, storage, distribution, circulation, commercialization, importation, exportation, use, consumption, advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), also known as e-cigarettes, within the country.
In addition, the resolution also prohibits zero-nicotine products and related accessories. Reports have indicated that this makes Venezuela the third South American country, following Argentina and Brazil, to fully ban e-cigarettes.
Two months ago, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro requested the government's medical and science teams to consider implementing this ban. The Venezuelan Ministry of Health stated that this is a response to the warnings by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding e-cigarettes, as the organization has consistently taken an unfriendly stance towards e-cigarettes.
However, Alberto Gomez, the community manager of the World Smokers Alliance, says that the ban on reduced-harm products in Venezuela is a setback for public health. According to him, thousands of Venezuelans have successfully quit traditional tobacco by using e-cigarettes to improve their health. Now, they will have difficulty purchasing these products, and more smokers will find it challenging to transition to low-risk alternatives.
Gomez believes that the ban will have unexpected consequences, as users will turn to the black market or return to smoking conventional cigarettes, leading to worse public health outcomes and increased medical expenses. Moreover, illegal markets do not regulate sales to minors, and products are not subjected to safety and quality control, and the government will not receive tax revenue. This ban will not solve any problem.
The attitude towards e-cigarettes in South America, as well as the actual e-cigarette market in the region, has been in a state of contradiction. In a previous article by Geworko, we mentioned that Latin American markets tend to be conservative when it comes to e-cigarette regulation, and most major economies in the region impose e-cigarette bans. However, due to poor enforcement of the bans and rampant smuggling, there is also a thriving e-cigarette black market, such as in Brazil.
The significant reason for this is the different e-cigarette regulations in neighboring countries and the flourishing import and export trade. For example, Paraguay, one of the few countries in Latin America where e-cigarettes are legal, is currently the main source of e-cigarettes in the Brazilian market.
E-cigarette usage in Brazil has significantly increased from 500,000 adult users in 2018 to over 2 million in 2021, with an increase of over 300%.
Overall, Venezuela has indeed banned e-cigarettes from a regulatory perspective, but whether this ban will become a meaningless piece of paper like in Brazil remains to be seen.
