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Vaping can now be enjoyed legally in some Southeast Asian countries.
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Vico Xia, deputy project director, Informa Plc. Credit: Informa Plc
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Jill Guo, marketing manager, Informa Plc. Credit: Informa Plc
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IECIE Shenzhen “was” quite popular. The show is now cancelled. Credit: Informa Plc
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Customer and seller interaction at IECIE Shenzhen. Credit: Thomas Schmid
Southeast Asia used to be uniformly hostile to e-smoking, But while some countries ease up on regulations, others remain stubbornly anti-vape.
When vaping grew more popular around the world only about a decade ago, regulators in Southeast Asia’s nations were quite unsure how to handle this completely new product segment. Scientific studies regarding vaping’s reduced health risks when compared to conventional tobacco were far and few between and dubious internet content sowed uncertainty. Perhaps out of pure precaution (or as a sort of safeguard), most ASEAN member countries almost immediately either issued out-right bans on vaping products or at least severely restricted their use.
Ten years on, Southeast Asia is no longer unanimously “anti-vape”, but has transformed into a fragmented patchwork of legalization and outright bans. Several countries have made vaping legal, while others stubbornly continue out-lawing it. The region’s two most “vape-friendly” countries today are the Philippines and Indonesia, with Malaysia very soon going to join the ranks. At the opposite end of the spectrum sit Singapore and Thailand, both upholding total vaping bans.
Indonesia
A classic case of “opponent-turned-proponent”. Vaping previously was strictly against the law, which of course only gave rise to a rapidly growing black market, and one that, somewhat inexplicably, was even tolerated by the authorities. But as 2018 came around, the Indonesian government finally announced the long-awaited legalization, indeed becoming the very first country in Southeast Asia to do so. The government even designated July 18 of each year as “Vape Festival Day”.
Market legalization was of course not only a boon for local entrepreneurs and end consumers alike but it also helped the country become a preferred location for vape exhibitions and industry seminars in Asia. In 2021, Indonesia’s vape sector generated a respectable US$239 million in revenues, according to Vico Xia, deputy project director of Informa Plc, organizer of the vape exhibition, IECIE.
The Philippines
Previously an unregulated market, the Philippines passed its first vaping bill in July 2019, less than a year after Indonesia and also introduced a taxation system for e-cigarettes. A considerably more detailed law, the “Non-Combustible Nicotine Delivery Systems Regulation Act” (a.k.a. House Bill 9007), was only adopted in early 2022, further regulating the sale and manufacture of vaping and heated tobacco products. It also bans any vaping flavors other than menthol and tobacco and prohibits vape sales to minors. All vaping products are obliged to obtain a pre-marketing “FDA Electronic Registration Number” (FERN).
Malaysia
Malaysia will finally end its longtime ban on vaping on August 3 this year, when the cumbersomely named “Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking) of Electronic Cigarette Devices Order 2022 under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011” is expected to come into effect.
That a ban should have persisted for so long is even more baffling when realizing that a tremendously prolific black market existed for years, with some sources claiming that it comprises well over 30,000 retailers and manufacturers of e-liquids and accessories.
“Malaysia’s vape market size reached US$558 million in 2021, accounting for 42% of the country’s total domestic tobacco market,” Informa’s Vico Xia told Tobacco Asia. However, the legalization will tag along with stringent regulations, including the need to register all e-liquid products and the safety certification of all devices.
Vietnam
Vaping continues to go practically unregulated in Vietnam. There are no restrictions – let alone mandatory quality or safety standards – on e-liquids and flavors or vaping devices. As IECIE’s marketing manager Jill Guo remarked during a recent interview with Tobacco Asia, “Vapers can pursue their pastime freely in Vietnam due to the market currently lacking regulation.”
Although the government reportedly had previously attempted to push through a total ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products in pretty much the same form and shape as it currently exists in Thailand and Singapore, there apparently “was no clear legal framework to have supported that move,” according to Guo. But that failure also bestows hope that Vietnam eventually will come around and recognize the advantages of regulating the sector and harnessing the same economic benefits already enjoyed by Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
Singapore
Already Southeast Asia’s quintessential anti-smoking country, Singapore also comes down hard on vaping. Under section 16(2A) of the Tobacco Control of Advertisements and Sale Act (TCASA), it is illegal to possess, purchase, use, import, and sell vaping products of any kind and description. Offenders can be fined up to S$10,000 (US$7,200) and be jailed for up to six months, repeat offenders even risking a doubling of their first sentence.
Thailand
Thailand likewise completely bans possessing, using, purchasing, importing, and selling vaping products. A burgeoning black market established itself nevertheless, only proving once again that such bans are rather inconsequential if they cannot be properly enforced or policed. Still, under present laws, violators face a fine ambiguously defined as “several times the assessed value of the illegal item(s)” or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both.
However, a quite intensive tug-of-war has been playing out lately between the country’s digital economy minister and its public health minister, whereas the former is pushing for full legalization while the latter is the figurehead of a powerful, almost fanatical anti-vaping camp. Eventually, parliament will have to vote whether to make vaping legal. But local media op-eds are adamant that the anti-vaping lobby will probably prevail, with health minister Anutin Chanvirakul frequently issuing press statements that he has every intent to uphold the ban ad infinitum.
“IECIE Global Tour” to premier in Indonesia
Since 2015, IECIE (“International E-Cigarette Industrial Expo”) took place annually in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. Due to overwhelming industry response, the Shenzhen event was supplemented by a second show in Shanghai in 2018. Due to uncertainty in China due to the government’s recent regulations over the vape industry, the organizing company, Informa Plc, cancelled the Shenzhen and Shanghai events (until further notice) and resolved that it was time to spread IECIE’s wings beyond the borders of China. The group established IECIE Global Tour, a new concept, the first of which will be held October 20-22 at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo). A second “IECIE Global Tour” will take place in Las Vegas in 2023.