Legal Definition Challenges in Managing Tobacco in Vietnam

Key Points:

The tobacco management in Vietnam faces challenges due to unclear legal definitions.

The Department of Justice suggests enhancing legislation to clearly define e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

According to the Vietnamese newspaper "Frontier," at the seminar "Preventing Tobacco Smuggling: Facing Many Challenges," Deputy Director of the Department of Civil Law and Economic Law of the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice, Lê Đại Hải, detailed the legal difficulties that various government departments are facing in the implementation of the new Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15 on tobacco. He also proposed some recommendations.

Currently, the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Law and related regulations mainly focus on traditional cigarettes, with the definition of new tobacco products still unclear. Despite the ban on the production, operation, import, agency, transportation, and use of new tobacco products set to take effect on January 1, 2025, law enforcement agencies will face significant challenges if they solely rely on the aforementioned resolution.

In order to implement this resolution, it is necessary to introduce corresponding guidance documents that clarify the definitions and differences between e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Heated tobacco products are not e-cigarettes; they are tobacco products that are heated using electronic devices instead of being lit, and the cigarette remains intact after use. On the other hand, e-cigarettes rely on electronic devices to vaporize e-liquid, creating an aerosol for inhalation. There are currently various forms of e-cigarette products on the market. The Social Committee and the Committee on Culture and Education of the Vietnamese National Assembly have found that in some schools, vendors are selling e-cigarettes that resemble juice boxes to students, making it difficult to identify these products.

The Justice Department believes that these definitions should be revised and expanded in legal texts to cover new tobacco products on the market, ensuring complete and comprehensive regulation of the law. According to the established procedures for drafting laws and regulations, the drafting body needs to evaluate the impact of policies on different parties. For example, in Resolution 173, if the production and sale of new tobacco products are prohibited, the drafters must explain how this policy will directly and indirectly affect stakeholders.

Previously, investment regulations in Vietnam had categorized tobacco production as a conditionally restricted industry, but had not yet fully banned it.

The Ministry of Justice has recommended that definitions for e-cigarettes and heated tobacco be added to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Law and Law No. 67 of 2013 to ensure legal consistency and comprehensive management. Drafting agencies are required to report their differing opinions and anticipated consequences to the government for analysis before issuing penalty provisions.