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January 18, 2024 by gulfbusiness.com

Selling electronic cigarettes, shisha or any associated accessories will incur fines of up to OMR2,000 ($5,208) in Oman, according to a new circular. The sale and marketing of e-cigarettes have been banned in Oman since 2015 by the country’s Consumer Protection Authority. However, the use and possession of e-cigarettes in Oman are legal, according to the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction.

January 18, 2024 by channelnewsasia.com

Mr Dandiar Rosli used to burn through a pack of cigarettes a day. In an effort to kick the habit a few years ago, he turned to electronic vapourisers, commonly known as vapes, believing they were a healthier choice that would wean him off cigarettes. Two months into vaping, however, he started waking up in the middle of the night with coughing fits that produced yellowish-green phlegm. Mr Dandiar, who was 34 back then, was also constantly breathless and panting even while sitting or lying down.

January 17, 2024 by tobaccoreporter.com

A public health advocacy group based in the Philippines has criticized the latest report of the World Health Organization on the use of electronic cigarettes, saying the global body undermines the significant progress made in public health over the past two decades as smokers transitioned to smoke-free products. Lorenzo Mata Jr., president of Quit for Good, said the WHO’s continued demonization of e-cigarettes disregards the wealth of scientific evidence demonstrating that smoke-free alternatives such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and snus have helped millions of smokers in countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and Sweden successfully quit smoking.

January 11, 2024 by channelnewsasia.com

Public health, not potential tax revenue losses, was the reason Singapore decided to ban electronic cigarettes in 2018, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Wednesday (Jan 10). Member of Parliament James Lim (WP-Sengkang) had filed questions on e-cigarettes or vapes, asking if the potential loss of tax revenue was a factor in disallowing e-cigarettes. In a written reply, Mr Wong said the ban was to protect Singapore's population from the harms of e-cigarettes, also known as vapes.

January 10, 2024 by tobaccoreporter.com

Uzbekistan has indexed excise tax rates for tobacco products for 2024. Local tobacco products were indexed by 12 percent, and imports were reduced by 5 percent. According to UZ Daily, the new excise rates on cigarettes, cigarillos, bidis and kreteks produced in the country are UZS250,700 ($20.31) per 1,000 pieces plus 10 percent.

January 09, 2024 by theindependent.sg

The authorities have cracked down on those found with vapes at the end of 2023 and the start of 2024, with hundreds being fined after being found with e-vaporisers in several operations in December. Amid these actions, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s estranged younger brother, Lee Hsien Yang, has called on the Government to lift its ban on e-cigarettes. In response to a crackdown in early December at Zoukout, Mr Lee Hsien Yang wrote on Facebook on 8 Dec: “Singapore should lift the ban e-cigarettes. The benefits that would accrue from regulated use of e-cigarettes outweigh the potential risks involved.”

January 05, 2024 by filtermag.org

Over five million Indians have died of smoking-related causes since their government banned the sale of vapes and heated tobacco products in late 2019. Instead of being swayed into offering low-risk, effective alternatives to millions of people who smoke, the government has intensified its war on them. Cheered on by the World Health Organization and allied groups, India’s government has now obstructed research on tobacco harm reduction (THR) products and gagged the media from discussing adoption of THR strategies.

January 04, 2024 by thejakartapost.com

The government rang in the New Year with a 10 percent tax on electronic cigarettes effective as of Jan. 1, a move that comes after years of delay and has sparked opposition from industry players calling for the Finance Ministry to postpone the policy. The tax is calculated based on the excise imposed on electronic cigarettes, also called e-cigarettes or vape, as stipulated in Finance Ministerial Regulation (PMK) No. 143/2023. The ministry said the excise had been implemented in 2018 but that the related tax had not been imposed in line with a 2009 regulation that allowed a five-year transition period, even though the two policies were intended to work in tandem.

January 03, 2024 by channelnewsasia.com

Indonesia will impose a new tax on e-cigarettes from Jan 1, adding to an excise tax to help curb vaping, the country's finance ministry said on Saturday (Dec 30). Southeast Asia's largest economy has set the additional tax at 10 per cent of the excise tariff for electronic cigarettes, the ministry said in a statement. "Long-term consumption of electronic cigarettes has been shown to affect people's health," it said, adding the tax on e-cigarettes is also needed to level the playing field with conventional cigarettes.

January 01, 2024 by vietnamplus.vn

Indonesia officially imposed a new tax on e-cigarettes on January 1, adding to an excise tax to help curb vaping. Deni Surjantoro, head of the Communication and Information Service Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, said that the purpose of imposing this tax, on top of the excise duties, is to control tobacco consumption among the public. The government had provided a transition period for the collection of taxes on e-cigarettes since the imposition of excise duties in mid-2018, Deni Surjantoro said on December 30.