Market & legal data of the tobacco alternatives sector in Asia

21st February 2025: India: The Indian government may increase the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on tobacco products, currently taxed at 28%. One of the options under consideration is to increase the GST to 40% – the highest amount permissible – and add an excise duty on top, according to press reports.
21st February 2025: United Arab Emirates: The Federal Tax Authority announced in a press release yesterday (20th February) that it conducted more than 93,000 inspection visits to local markets across the country in 2024 – more than double the 40,000 field visits it carried out in 2023. The authority said these control efforts resulted last year in the seizure and confiscation of 11m packs of non-compliant tobacco products that do not bear the “digital tax stamps”. Director general of the authority Khalid Ali Al Bustani said these inspection visits aim to ensure tax compliance, combat evasion and prevent counterfeit excise tax products. He highlighted the role of digital technologies in monitoring and inspection and in strategic partnerships for market oversight, and the effectiveness of the Digital Tax Stamps system – implemented over six years ago – in tracking and verifying tax payments on tobacco products.
21st February 2025: China: In an analysis on the tenth anniversary of Beijing’s tobacco control framework, the authorities report that the adult smoking rate (15+) has steadily declined. Rates dropped from 23.4% in 2014 to 19.9% in 2023. Secondhand smoke exposure in public places has also improved. Authorities plan to strengthen enforcement, target high-risk groups (especially middle-aged adults) and expand smoking-cessation services. Efforts will focus on workplaces, restaurants and bars, where violations remain common. No reference has been made to novel tobacco or nicotine products, according to the local press.
21st February 2025: Pakistan: Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, coordinator to the prime minister on health, has approved the proposal to revive the Tobacco Control Cell, reaffirming his commitment to tackling tobacco use in the country. Bharath made this pledge during a meeting focused on strengthening measures against tobacco consumption, with a particular emphasis on addressing nicotine addiction among youth.
20th February 2025: Indonesia: The head of the Ministry of Health’s Tobacco Disease Control Working Team, Benget Saragih, has advocated for the approval of the draft regulations that seek to introduce plain packaging for all tobacco and nicotine products, arguing that standardised packaging can reduce the prevalence of under-age smokers by reducing the appeal of the products, press reports. Saragih argues that plain packaging is quite important because the packaging of tobacco products is deliberately made colourful to attract young people.
19th February 2025: Bangladesh: The government is developing a policy to control the production and cultivation of tobacco across the country. Farida Akhter, advisor to the government on fisheries and livestock, revealed this initiative during a view exchange meeting. She highlighted the negative impact of tobacco cultivation on communities, emphasising its serious environmental and health consequences for the population.
19th February 2025: Philippines: The Health Care Providers Alliance Against Covid (HPAAC) has called on the Senate to reject bill 11360, which seeks to replace the annual 5% hike on tobacco and vaping excise taxes with a staggered increase.
18th February 2025: Gulf Cooperation Council: The Technical Committee for Tobacco Products of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standardization Organization (GSO) has preliminarily approved a standard introducing flavour restrictions, additional requirements for devices and batteries, common health warnings, and standardised packaging regulations across all GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – for both vaping and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The standard still requires final approval, and the text of the proposed regulation is currently unavailable. We are actively engaging with the relevant authorities to obtain more detailed information.
18th February 2025: Thailand: The E-Cigarette Policy Committee within the Thai parliament is preparing a proposal for a regulation to prevent the tobacco industry from interfering with the policy, in line with Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), and to propose that the Ministry of Commerce ban online sales and advertising, according to local press. Members of various committees have also highlighted their concern about the report of the Special Committee to Study the Law and Measures to Control E-Cigarettes, which proposed three options to regulate heated tobacco and e-cigs: “maintain the law prohibiting the import of e-cigarettes and enforce it seriously, allow the import of heated tobacco e-cigarettes, allow the import of all types of e-cigarettes”. They will recommend the first option, as the other options “make controlling e-cigarettes more difficult”.
18th February 2025: South Korea: The two main political parties in the parliament, the People Power Party (ruling party) and the Democratic Party of Korea (opposition party), have failed to reach an agreement over the bill seeking to expand the definition of tobacco products to products derived from all parts of the tobacco plant (including stems, roots and synthetic nicotine), press reports. Therefore, the approval of the bill is postponed.
18th February 2025: Philippines: The Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI), a trade association, supports a tax proposal that would replace the annual 5% hike on tobacco and vaping excise taxes with a staggered increase, media reports. We understand it concerns House Bill 11360, which aims to rationalise excise tax rates on tobacco and vaping products. The bill imposes structured tax increases: a 2% increase every even-numbered year, starting in 2026, and a 4% increase every odd-numbered year, beginning in 2027, with the increases continuing until 2035. The aim is to curb revenue losses from illicit trade. The House of Representatives (lower chamber of parliament) approved the bill in the third and final reading at the beginning of February. We understand that the Senate would need to approve the bill next.
14th February 2025: Indonesia: The chairperson of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, has reportedly instructed the parliament to properly examine the concerns raised by stakeholders and political leaders over the draft regulations that seek to introduce plain packaging for all tobacco and nicotine products. The regulations have faced much backlash from both the industry and stakeholders involved in the processing and manufacturing of tobacco products, as they argue that such strict provisions would have a detrimental effect over the national economy.

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