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On June 27, Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies rolled out the Portuguese translation of Transform Drug Policy’s How to Regulate Cannabis: A Practical Guide. It covers social equity taxation, in the context of making reparations for communities harmed by Brazil’s punitive cannabis policies. That same day, prominent right-wing magazine Veja claimed that the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) was about to restrict importation of cannabis flower—in part by citing misinformation about smoking and vaping medical cannabis products.

The Justice Ministry on Thursday ordered 33 Brazilian businesses to suspend e-cigarette sales. They have 48 hours to comply or face daily fines of BRL 5,000 (USD 960). E-cigarettes have been banned in Brazil since 2009, but they can easily be bought in supermarkets, tobacconists, and online. [...] In July, federal health regulator Anvisa voted to uphold the country's e-cigarette ban.

Brazil’s public health agency, ANVISA, has been consulting on whether the long-standing policy of prohibition of vaping products should be retained or lifted. [...] Unfortunately, it looks like the Brazilian authorities have allowed too much tobacco control prohibitionist rhetoric and pseudoscience to influence their posture.

The basic options are:

Maintain prohibition
Maintain prohibition but with enhanced communication and education
Legalise and regulate the manufacture, import and sale of vaping products.
The fundamental issue is that the Brazilian authorities are not recognising the interaction between smoking and smoke-free products – i.e. tobacco harm reduction.

Brazil’s national drug agency, Anvisa, has opened a consultation on e-cigarettes, reports Portal Rondonia. The agency is seeking technical and scientific information to help it craft regulations for the product category.

The import, sale and advertising of e-cigarettes is banned in Brazil, but the products are said to be widely available anyway.

Brazil’s Pulmonology Society has already expressed its opposition to e-cigarettes, claiming they are a threat to public health.