Market & legal data in the tobacco alternatives sector in Vietnam

15th October 2024: Vietnam: The Ministry of Health, in coordination with relevant agencies, has launched a communication campaign through mass media agencies to clarify misconceptions about e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The campaign will focus on the toxicity of the products and nicotine addiction. The campaign will also include social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
7th October 2024: Vietnam: During a workshop held on 3rd October, the Ministry of Health proposed that the government should issue a resolution supporting a ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, the deputy director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Health, said: “The Ministry of Health is participating in developing a number of policies, including proposing amendments to the Law on Special Consumption Tax. In the face of the increasing emergence of new types of cigarettes that affect people's health, especially young people, the Ministry of Health has proposed that the Government issue a Resolution on banning the production, trading, and import of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.”
30th September 2024: Vietnam: Following the introduction of a draft law on special consumption tax to increase taxes on tobacco products with two options of taxes, the Ministry of Health has agreed to option 2, press reports. This option starts in 2026 with a tax of VND50,000 ($2) per cigarette, 100 g, or 100 ml, which will increase annually by VND10,000 ($0.40) until reaching a maximum of VND100,000 ($4). The tax might also apply to heated tobacco and e-cigarettes if regulated. The tax would cover “other forms, other preparations from tobacco plants for smoking, inhaling, chewing, sniffing or sucking (100 g or 100 ml)”.
23rd August 2024: Vietnam: Minister of health Dao Hong Lan emphasised the urgent need for a complete ban on the production, sale, import and advertising of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs) and other new tobacco products to safeguard public health. She highlighted the rising use of these products among students and said this poses health risks, including damage to lung function and adolescent brain development. Lan warned that simply restricting the sale, purchase and use of these products by minors would not effectively reduce smoking rates, calling instead for preventive measures to stop the spread of nicotine addiction and protect public health, press reports.
22nd July 2024: Vietnam: Following the introduction of a draft law on special consumption tax to increase the tax on tobacco products, the Ministry of Finance has proposed, according to the press, two options for the tax, which may also apply to heated tobacco and e-cigarettes if regulated. The tax would cover “other forms, other preparations from tobacco plants for smoking, inhaling, chewing, sniffing, or sucking (100 g or 100 ml)”. The first option starts with a tax of VND20,000 ($0.79) per cigarette, 100 g, or 100 ml in 2026, increasing by VND20,000 ($0.79) annually up to a maximum of VND100,000 ($3.93). The second option starts with a tax of VND50,000 ($1.97) per cigarette, 100 g, or 100 ml in 2026, increasing by VND10,000 ($0.39) annually, reaching a maximum of VND100,000. ($3.93).
16th July 2024: Vietnam: The representative of the Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Supervision and Management of the Ministry of Finance said at a workshop that the department has developed a draft law on a special consumption tax to increase the tax on tobacco products, press reports. The draft law was sent to ministers for comments in June. It appears to cover only conventional cigarettes and not alternative products.
6th June 2024: Vietnam: In a session in the National Assembly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced its support for a ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, after the Ministry of Health officially made a report highlighting the products’ negative effects, press reports. The Ministry of Industry and Trade said: “If the Ministry of Health confirms that new cigarettes are so harmful to health that they need to be banned, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will support the need to soon amend relevant legal regulations so that this product cannot be circulated.”
14th May 2024: Vietnam: Prime minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed Official Dispatch 47/CD-TTg requesting several ministries to strengthen the control of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco and take action to prevent their harmful effects. Specifically, the dispatch asks the Ministry of Health to promote solutions to manage these products, the Ministry of Finance to instruct customs to strictly inspect and control transportation of illegal products at borders, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to strengthen control over organisations that trade and store the products, among other requests.
6th May 2024: Vietnam: In a meeting organised by the Social Committee of the National Assembly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade insisted on the creation of a pilot programme for e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. During the process of developing a policy on the issue, all other ministries agreed with the pilot project, except for the Ministry of Health, which advised amending the Tobacco Harm Prevention and Control Act to ban these products. At the end of the meeting, the chairman of the Social Committee suggested that the Ministry of Health coordinate with relevant ministries and stakeholders to review legal documents to "prevent the harmful effects of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco".
24th April 2024: Vietnam: Yesterday (23rd April) at a meeting in the National Assembly, organised by the Social Affairs Committee, the Ministry of Health reiterated the need for a total ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Other parliamentary delegates believe that it is necessary to specify the definitions of the products in legal documents in order to create a basis on which it would be possible to identify and warn about their harmful effects.
25th March 2024: Vietnam: The Ministry of Health has said it will propose a ban on heated tobacco and e-cigarettes to the government, even as the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Finance propose taxation and measures to develop the economy, media reports. A member of the Ministry of Health’s legal department said: “The Ministry of Health is committed to protecting, caring for and improving people’s health, putting people’s interests first, and ensuring the sustainable development of the country in terms of health and the environment. We will propose policies based on scientific evidence.”
21st March 2024: Vietnam: In a workshop about new-generation cigarettes organised by the Vietnam Tobacco Corporation (Vinataba) – the only company allowed to import e-cigarettes and heated tobacco – the deputy director of the Ministry of Health’s legal department said that so far, all documents sent by the Ministry of Health to the National Assembly and the government have proposed banning heated tobacco and e-cigarettes. He added that the ministry is listening to different opinions when planning policies. The representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s legal department supported a unified legal framework and added that the ministry is currently developing a policy in line with international practices, which will be submitted to the government in the near future.

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