The workshop on the legal framework of new-generation cigarettes is held in the context that the Government is instructing the Ministry of Industry and Trade to urgently propose a specific management policy for new-generation cigarettes. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam should not legalise the use ofelectronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and heated-tobacco-products (HTPs)immediately but conduct a pilot phase allowing the production, import andtrading of this new-generation cigarettes in the country, officials have said.
Representatives from various agencies of the Government were speaking at aworkshop on the legal framework for new-generation cigarettes in Vietnam, heldby Phap Luat Vietnam (Vietnam Law) Newspaper in Hanoi on November 11.
The representatives said e-cigarettes and HTPs were the result of the globalapplication of technology and still very new to Vietnam's tobacco industry andregulators.
In Vietnam, these products have appeared in many different channels, fromtraditional stores to e-commerce websites and social networks. The productshave been smuggled and illegally traded in the country and the frequency andnumber of seizures of e-cigarettes and HTPs sales has gradually increased.
The impact of HTPs and e-cigarettes on young people is a controversial issue asthe health effects of those products remain uncertain. It is unknown whether itis less harmful than smoking tobacco, and how to manage such new-generationcigarettes when they are not regulated.
The pilot is expected to provide the Government and authorities with sufficientinformation, helping them accurately assess the socio-economic impact of thelegalisation of these products in Vietnam.
The legal framework built upon these assessments should then complement thenational strategy on tobacco harm reduction, ensuring the reconciliation ofinterests of stakeholders, including the State, consumers and tobacco producersand gardeners, and consistency with international practices.
Nguyen Quynh Lien, deputy head of the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal andAdministrative Legislation Department, said the current Law on Tobacco HarmPrevention and Control and Decree No.77/2013/ND-CP had provided measures toprevent and combat tobacco harms, including regulations on smoking detoxificationand the ban on smoking cigarettes in public places.
However, these regulations are currently mainly applied to traditionalcigarettes. “For new-generation cigarettes, due to the differences in productcharacteristics compared to traditional cigarettes, it is necessary to studycarefully to come up with a suitable management mechanism,” Lien added.
Sharing the same view with Lien, Nguyen Ky Minh, the Deputy Chief of Office ofthe Ministry of Industry and Trade’s General Department of Market Management,said the current law did not have sanctions on handling new-generationcigarettes so the market watch force could only handle these products as goodsmanufactured by foreign countries being traded in Vietnam without invoices anddocuments proving their origin.
“We need to have a legal framework for this item, giving specific and validpenalties for related violations,” Minh said.
A report of the market watch forces showed in the first eight months of thisyear, the forces nationwide tackled more than 8,300 cases, confiscating morethan 8 million packages of smuggled cigarettes of all kinds, of which thevolume of new-generation cigarettes was seen increasing rapidly.
Le Thanh Hung, an official from the Ministry of Science and Technology’sDirectorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality, said his ministry agreed withthe Ministry of Industry and Trade’s report on the results of research onnew-generation cigarettes.
“After studying, we agreed that it’s needed to soon review and build legaldocuments and policies on the management of e-cigarettes and HTPs in Vietnam,which must be suitable with the country’s development,” Hung said.
Hung said many countries across the world had issued standards fornew-generation tobacco products. “On the international level, organisationssuch as the International Organisation for Standardisation, Cooperation Centrefor Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco and European Committee forStandardisation have also issued standards for new-generation cigarettes,including technical requirements and testing method standards," he said.
Meanwhile, members of the Vietnam Tobacco Association worried about the illegalimport of new-generation cigarettes to Vietnam, threatening domestic productionof traditional cigarettes. The members agreed that both HTPs and e-cigarettesneeded to go through a pilot phase before building the legal frameworkapplicable because it has directly impacted the business activities oftraditional tobacco producers.
Phung Duc Thinh, the authorised representative of the Vietnam TobaccoAssociation, said the domestic tobacco industry needed at least 12 months toprepare for competitiveness and to create stability before the Governmentallows the new-generation products to be imported, traded and distributed in Vietnam.
In the case of Japan, one of the first markets for new-generation cigarettes,the output of traditional cigarettes had suffered a dramatic decline when thenew-generation products were launched.
“We strongly hope the Government will create conditions to allow domestictobacco enterprises to invest in suitable machinery and equipment for theproduction of e-cigarettes and HTPs,” Thinh said.
In 2019, the association paid to the State budget 18.4 trillion VND, includingimport tax, according to Tran Tuyet Trang, an official from the GeneralDepartment of Taxation’s Tax Policy Department./.
VNA
