Black market trade in e-cigarettes and associated products is being driven by smuggling. Regulating the category will protect consumers, secure much-needed tax revenues, and bolster Egypt’s free-market model.

Illicit trade of e-cigarettes has emerged as a mounting problem in Egypt, as adult smokers across the country are gradually switching away from cigarettes to what is considered by global health bodies as a better alternative to combusted tobacco. The sale, distribution, and importation of electronic cigarettes have been prohibited in the country since 2015, [...]