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Lawmakers in Kazakhstan voted on July 29 to ban the sale, import, export and production of e-cigarettes and liquids, reports Atlas News. “The harm of vapes is undeniable,” said Deputy Nurgul Tau. “That is why the Ministry of Health has been sharply raising the issue of introducing a ban on the circulation of vapes since 2021. In my request, I proposed a complete ban on the sale of vapes.”

An article on the World Bank Group pointed out that while the tobacco taxation policy practiced in Kazakhstan in 2003-2013 resulted in increased tobacco excise revenues, it was evidently not effective in terms of public health, as it did not lead to a decrease in cigarette consumption. In 2014, tobacco excise taxes were drastically increased and tobacco affordability substantially reduced, and this resulted in a decline in tobacco sales and smoking prevalence in the country. However, in 2015-2019 the nation returned to a policy of moderate tax increases.

The Kazakh State Revenue Committee Jan. 5 announced various excise tax changes for tobacco and alcohol products, effective for the 2022 tax year. The announcement includes: 1) an increase to 12,300 Kazakh tenge (US$29) from 11,000 tenge (US$26) per 1,000 cigarettes; 2) an increase to 11,750 tenge (US$28) from 7,345 tenge (US$17) for per kilogram of tobacco mixture for products with heated tobacco; 3) an increase to 8 tenge (US$0.019) from 5 tenge (US$0.001) per milliliter for nicotine-containing liquids; [...]