No Entry with Cigarettes... Which Country Regulates Even Dedicated Carriers?[News SeolCham]

(46) Many Overseas Travel Destinations Popular Among Koreans Face Numerous Regulations
Countries Worldwide Gradually Establishing E-Cigarette Regulations
Tourists Are Not Exempt from Punishment... Caution Needed

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Smokers planning year-end overseas trips now have a reason to closely examine the e-cigarette regulations of their destination countries. Following Taiwan and Thailand, Vietnam, one of the most popular overseas travel destinations for Koreans, has recently banned the import of e-cigarettes. Tourists should be cautious as violating related laws can result in imprisonment.

Image sketch related to smoking and smoking cessation.

Popular year-end overseas travel destinations for Koreans include Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. According to a survey released this month by the global travel application Skyscanner, the most preferred winter travel destination for Koreans was Taipei, Taiwan (11.5%). This was followed by Bangkok, Thailand (9.3%), Sapporo, Japan (8.8%), Hong Kong (8.2%), and Nha Trang, Vietnam (6.4%). The preference for warm resorts in winter, combined with affordable prices and relatively short flights, seems to have placed Asian countries at the top of the list.

Among these, all except Japan have regulations on e-cigarettes. Taiwan prohibits the manufacture, import, sale, and supply of e-cigarettes under the Tobacco Hazard Prevention Act enacted last year, with violations subject to fines up to 50 million New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 2.18 billion KRW). This measure was implemented as the general cigarette smoking rate gradually decreases while e-cigarette usage increases. Thailand also imposes fines up to 500,000 Baht (approximately 20 million KRW) for possession or use of e-cigarettes.

Hong Kong, under the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance amended in October 2021, bans the import, manufacture, sale, and advertisement of e-cigarettes. Ordering e-cigarettes online from overseas and having them delivered to Hong Kong is also illegal. Violations can result in fines up to 50,000 Hong Kong Dollars (approximately 9 million KRW) or imprisonment for up to six months.

Vietnam will ban the import of e-cigarettes starting next year. According to a resolution approved to reduce smoking rates and raise awareness of the harms of e-cigarettes, production, sale, import, storage, transportation, and use of e-cigarettes will be prohibited from next year. The Vietnamese government plans to establish specific measures to enforce this ban, but the level of penalties has not yet been determined.

In addition, several other countries regulate the use of e-cigarettes. India has completely banned the production, import, sale, and storage of e-cigarettes since 2019, with violations punishable by up to one year imprisonment or fines up to 100,000 Indian Rupees (approximately 1.67 million KRW). Singapore, which banned e-cigarette use since 2018, imposes fines of 2,000 Singapore Dollars (approximately 2.1 million KRW) for violations. Brazil, Argentina, and others also regulate e-cigarette use.

Some countries are currently discussing e-cigarette regulations. On the 3rd of this month, Mexico's lower house passed a constitutional amendment related to e-cigarette control, awaiting only Senate approval. Malaysia is also reviewing a proposal to ban the sale of e-cigarettes.