Trade ministry supports e-cigarette ban

Trader minister Nguyen Hong Dien told lawmakers Wednesday that it has requested the government to halt the review of its proposed bill on regulating e-cigarettes after the health ministry officially made a report higlighting their negative effects.

"The Ministry of Industry and Trade supports making changes in the law to ban e-cigarettes as the Ministry of Health has affirmed that they are harmful".

The trade ministry has not issued license to any business to trade e-cigarettes and has ordered market authorities to punish all those who do, Dien said.

Some cases are being investigated for violations, he added.

E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco and therefore have not been regulated in Vietnam.

There are at least 60 chemical substances found in the liquid solution of e-cigarettes and they can cause cancer and cardiovascular issues, according to the health ministry.

The ratio of Vietnamese aged 13-15 using e-cigarettes has increased from 3.5% in 2022 to 8% in 2023, official data shows.

Last year over 1,200 people were hospitalized for using e-cigarettes.