WHO urges Vietnam to add e-cigarettes, heated tobacco to banned investment list

Vietnam’s lawmaking National Assembly approved a ban on the products in 2024, but they remain available for sale, WHO said.

The organization noted that the current draft of the revised investment law does not list the items among prohibited sectors.

WHO representative Angela Pratt said the law should prohibit all production, import, and trading of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, including manufacturing for export, to avoid legal loopholes.

The organization cited data from Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi as showing emergency cases linked to the products fell nearly 70 percent in the 10 months after the 2024 ban took effect.

Several legislators, including Le Hoang Anh and Nguyen Lan Hieu who represent Gia Lai Province, backed WHO’s call and said excluding the products from the banned list of investments would contradict parliament’s earlier decision.

Medical experts said laboratory tests detected synthetic cannabinoids including 5F-ADB and MDMB-4en-PINACA, which have been associated with acute poisoning, in liquids used in e-cigarettes.

WHO said 42 countries and territories ban e-cigarettes and 24 prohibit heated tobacco products.

Vietnam is one of five ASEAN countries with a complete prohibition.