Alternative tobacco and nicotine products in South America

Americas: The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), which serves as regional office for the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Americas, has praised Venezuela for its recently announced ban on heated tobacco. The PAHO says the ban is “one of the most important achievements of the Venezuelan public health in recent years and places the country at the forefront in the fight against tobacco and related products in the region”. The ban was foreseen by TobaccoIntelligence last month.

Uruguay: Economy minister Azucena Arbeleche has submitted a bill to the General Assembly that would impose a 70% tax on the retail price of heated tobacco devices and consumables and “other products for recreational use as determined by the Executive Power”. The bill would also amend the Tobacco Act to prohibit the use of colorants, flavour enhancers, vitamins, fruit and vegetable extracts, or stimulants in tobacco products.

Brazil: Following the July 2022 decision by the collegiate board of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) to maintain the existing ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, the agency is planning to open a public consultation shortly on regulation of the products, press reports. This is the last step before proposed regulation is submitted to the collegiate board, which will make the final decision.

Argentina: Regional organisations the Salta Tobacco Chamber (CTS) and Misiones Tobacco Planters Association (APTM) have reportedly presented an administrative appeal to challenge Decree 565/2023, which came into force in March, banning the importation, distribution, sale and promotion of heated tobacco products.

Americas: Ahead of tomorrow’s World No Tobacco Day (31st May), Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), has warned that novel tobacco and nicotine products “threaten to undo decades of gains against tobacco use”. He said: “The tobacco industry and its allies do not rest. Currently, they spread a lot of misleading information that promotes, especially among young people, the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.”

Argentina: The government has sent Congress a proposal to adhere to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Argentina signed the convention in September 2003, but is one of the few countries in the world that has not ratified it. Among other things, the FCTC tackles the advertising, labelling and taxation of tobacco products.

Chile: The Chamber of Deputies yesterday approved Bill 12626-11, which together with Bill 12632-11 seeks to explicitly include heated tobacco products in the law on tobacco. The bill, introduced four years ago and approved by the Senate in March 2021, also includes certain provisions on devices and their components. However, it needs to be approved again by the Senate since the Chamber of Deputies proposed several modifications.

Argentina: Following the recently-issued Decree 565/2023 prohibiting the importation, distribution, sale and any form of promotion and sponsorship of heated tobacco products, two Congress members from the ruling coalition presented a bill last week seeking to overrule the ban and regulate heated tobacco products by including them in the tobacco law.