Politicians in Macau have voted and approved a legislative amendment that almost completely prohibits electronic cigarettes, with hopes to eventually implement a complete ban on them.
In May of this year, a significant number of e-cigarette shops and related businesses in Hong Kong were permanently shut down as legislators introduced the Pharmacy and Poisons Amendment Bill, which banned all things related to e-cigarettes.
In a short amount of time, Hong Kong customs officials have announced that they seized over £1.5 million worth of illegal electronic cigarette products - confirming fears that this will only fuel black market smuggling.
The people who have significantly improved their health after switching to electronic cigarette products have demonstrated the benefits of using them. While we must protect children, we cannot sacrifice the lives and health of adult smokers," commented Heneage Mitchell, founder of factasia.org.
Macau is moving forward with similar plans despite not taking notice of the negative effects of Hong Kong's ban. They are denying any reduction in harm to their citizens and are increasing the size of their prison population without any meaningful purpose.
The parliament voted in favor of a ban on the manufacturing, distribution, importation, and exportation of electronic cigarettes, as well as a ban on the transportation of e-cigarette products throughout the country.
Individual e-cigarette users will receive fines of about £400 (equivalent to $448.9), while businesses will face fines ranging from £2000 to £22,000.
Several speakers at the voting suggested pushing for a complete smoking ban and urged the government to consider adopting it as soon as possible.
In addition, this ban will raise the current tax rate on all tobacco products (including e-cigarettes) from 60% to 75%.
China's mainland currently still allows the use of electronic cigarettes. However, a lawmaker has warned that a complete ban could affect tourists entering China.
In June of this year, Heneage Mitchell stated that approximately 70 countries that regulate e-cigarettes have witnessed a sharp decline in smoking rates and the disappearance of traditional tobacco products. He believes that heated, non-burning products are effective and that bans are unnecessary. Nearby Asia-Pacific countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand are expected to lift their failed e-cigarette bans.
He went on to say that if Hong Kong wants to achieve genuine success in quitting smoking, it needs to follow important scientific and human evidence - which also applies to Macau's regression and unsubstantiated position.
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