Market & legal data in the tobacco alternatives sector in Taiwan

12th September 2024: Taiwan: No heated tobacco products (HTPs) in Taiwan have yet passed the health risk assessment required by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which is necessary before they can be sold, press reports. Although the ministry had initially estimated that the results would be available by October, delays have occurred as companies continue to submit additional documents. The release of the results may be further delayed, depending on how quickly the companies provide the required information. Lo Su-ying, head of the Tobacco Control Division Team at the ministry, noted that 12 companies have applied for the assessment, with 6 currently in the review stage. However, all are still providing supplementary information, such as epidemiological monitoring data on people under 20 and susceptible groups.
12th August 2024: Taiwan: On 8th August, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced a draft law titled “Prohibited Additives in Tobacco Products”, which updates the previous ban on four flavours established in the 2023 Amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act. The new draft law expands this prohibition to include 27 types of additives. It will apply to tobacco products, including heated tobacco products – although none have yet been approved in Taiwan – if they are granted permission for import and production.
11th July 2024: Taiwan: On the progress of reviewing the listing of heated tobacco products (HTPs), health and welfare minister Chiu Tai-Yuan said the expert panel in the ministry is actively reviewing applications, holding review meetings every week. Currently, about 12 companies are interested in applying, with 4 that are in progress but require additional documentation for the health risks assessment. The ministry’s relevant review process can be released to the public and will accelerate the process. Chiu made these remarks in response to a question from Kuomintang party legislator You Hao, who pointed out that HTPs have not yet been given permission for import and listing, resulting in widespread smuggling and hindering tobacco tax collection by the government, press reports.
2nd July 2024: Taiwan: The assessment of the health risks of heated tobacco products (HTPs), which could result in their legalisation, is being undertaken by a review committee that meets three to four times a month, said Wu Zhaojun, director-general of the Health Promotion Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. In response to a question from Kuomintang legislator Niu Xuting, who suggested partial results be released to address the emergence of a black market and public right-to-know concerns, Wu said the results will be announced once the manufacturers provide the initially requested information and can convince the review committee of the need for legalisation. Meanwhile, Chiu Tai-Yuan, health and welfare minister, said he would recommend Niu’s suggestion to the committee, press reports.
11th June 2024: Taiwan: During the legislative session, legislator Huang Jianbin asked executive president Zhuo Rongtai and minister of health and welfare Qiu Taiyuan to set an exact date for the listing of heated tobacco in order to resolve the black market problem, as the products have been under health risk assessment for more than a year, press reports. In response, the authorities said that the health risk assessment was still underway and that a definite date could not be given.
6th June 2024: Taiwan: The National Health Administration is currently reviewing applications from 12 manufacturers for premarket review of heated tobacco products (HTPs), and 3 companies have entered the substantive review stage and need to provide additional information, press reports. Civil society organisations have called attention to the four-year premarket review that HTPs have gone through in the US, and say Taiwan should also be more stringent in its review process.
21st March 2023: Taiwan: Amendments to tobacco legislation banning all types of e-cigarette and regulating heated tobacco products will come into force tomorrow. Heated tobacco products will have to undergo a health risk assessment before they can be sold in Taiwan. E-cigarette retailers risk fines of between TWD200,000 ($6,500) and TWD1m ($32,800), while anyone caught vaping could be fined TWD2,000 ($65) to TWD10,000 ($328).
20th March 2023: Taiwan: The Health Ministry has proposed banning the use of floral, fruity, chocolate and mint-flavoured additives in tobacco products. If adopted, the measure would come into effect within 18 months of publishing. In January, the parliament adopted amendments to the tobacco legislation, allowing heated tobacco products that undergo a health risk assessment; however, the enforcement date has yet to be decided by the executive branch.
22nd February 2023: Taiwan: Customs officers at Taipei airport seized 1,138 packs of heated tobacco consumables on Sunday from passengers flying in to Taiwan, media reports. Heated tobacco, while recently regulated, is not allowed to be imported or sold without pre-market approval.
13th January 2023: Taiwan: Yesterday, 12th January, the Legislative Yuan adopted the amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, which for the first time regulates heated tobacco. In order to be allowed on the market, these products would require a health risk assessment. The tobacco purchasing age will also be raised from 18 to 20.
22nd April 2022: Taiwan: Smoking and vaping advocates protested yesterday outside the country's parliament, expressing their dissatisfaction with the bill that would introduce a statutory ban on e-cigarettes and introduce stringent requirements on heated tobacco.
7th April 2022: Taiwan: About 97% of parents who responded to a survey conducted by the National Alliance of Parents Organisations would like all novel tobacco products to be banned, press reports. The organisation estimated that 73,000 teenagers in Taiwan use e-cigarettes and "similar products". A bill to explicitly ban e-cigarettes and regulate heated tobacco is currently at the final enactment stage.

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