Alternative tobacco and nicotine products in Vietnam

Vietnam: The Ministry of Finance is proposing an amendment to the Law on Special Consumption Tax to tax e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. It notes in its draft explanatory note that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends applying the same tax policy as for regular cigarettes, which are taxed in Vietnam at 75%. The draft is open for consultation and no deadline has been set. Heated tobacco is banned in Vietnam, while e-cigarettes are currently unregulated.

Vietnam: According to Ngo Khai Hoan, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade, leaders of the industry and health ministries are working on an amendment to Decree 67/2013 on tobacco trading to include new generation tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. Once finalised, the draft will be submitted to the prime minister.

Vietnam: Tran Thi Trang, deputy director of the Ministry of Health legal department, today told a seminar organised by the Ministry of Information and Communications that the health ministry was opposed to any pilot programs for e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. Instead, she proposed a ban on all such products on the grounds that they are harmful to health and attractive to children and adolescents.

Vietnam: Members of the one-party National Assembly have expressed concern about a potential pilot project for the regulation of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. Pham Van Hoa, who sits on the Law Committee, said a pilot scheme was inappropriate before the products had been through an impact assessment.

Vietnam: The Ministry of Science and Technology has issued seven National Standards on Tobacco. They apply, among other things, to filtered and unfiltered combustible cigarettes and raw tobacco. Although heated tobacco is currently banned in Vietnam, these standards might be applied or serve as a reference for the regulation of heat-not-burn (HnB) products should they ever be allowed. Members of the single-party National Assembly have recently criticised what they regard as the loose management of novel tobacco products.

Vietnam: During a symposium yesterday on new tobacco products, the Ministry of Health objected to a proposal put forward by the Ministry of Industry and Trade for a two-year pilot programme for trade in e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. Tran Thi Trang, deputy director of the health ministry’s legal department, said the pilot proposal came purely from a business perspective and has not been thoroughly studied from a public health viewpoint.

Vietnam: Luu Binh Pyong, a member of the one-party National Assembly, has criticised the loose management of novel tobacco products and spoken out against a ban, press reports. Other members of the Assembly have also supported the creation of a legal framework. Heated tobacco is forbidden in Vietnam while e-cigarettes are unregulated.