Nguyen Chi Nhan from the Vietnam Tobacco Association, said a lot of new generation tobacco products, including heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes, have been consumed widely.

However, in Vietnam. there is inconsistent understanding about new product lines, so consumers still cannot access official information about the products. 

Meanwhile, Vietnam still lacks a reasonable legal framework to control the products, which leads to serious consequences. 

“Because of the absence of clear legal regulations, consumers face risks in quality and safety, while the state fails to collect tax and punish smuggling, and manufacturers have to struggle with counterfeit products,” he said.

Ho Linh Lan from Japan Tobacco International (JTI) said most regional countries have enacted legal provisions to control new generation tobacco, and set specific regulations for electronic and heated cigarettes.

She proposed that Vietnamese policymakers refer to international practice and consider real conditions in Vietnam to set a legal framework for both electronic and heated cigarettes.

According to experts, since the government has not set up a legal framework to control new generation tobacco, all products in circulation are considered illegal, with no clear origin, thus posing risks to human health. 

Unofficial statistics show that smuggled electronic cigarettes account for 90 percent of the Vietnamese new-generation tobacco market. 

Most of the risks to health reported so far occurred with illegal open-system electronic cigarettes, with no relation to closed-system cigarettes. Legal tobacco products are manufactured in accordance with manufacturers’ standards and legal provisions.

Ha Thi Doanh from the General Directorate of Market Surveillance said the agency considers electronic cigarette trade as smuggling and trade of goods with no clear origin.

However, the punishment for trading new generation tobacco products is not stiff, maximum VND50 million in administrative fine on individuals and VND100 million on organizations. In addition, tobacco products are ruined or seized. 

The agency, after checking current laws and regulations, agreed that there is no basis to conclude that electronic and heated cigarettes are prohibited goods.

According to Le Dai Hai from the Ministry of Justice, electronic cigarettes have been penetrating the domestic market and becoming popular though they have not been recognized.

Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Institute of Branding and Competition Strategy, said a legal framework for new tobacco products is needed and tobacco production should be considered a conditional business.

Luong Bang