Venezuela Regulates E-Cigarette Manufacturing and Sales

The Venezuelan Ministry of Science and Technology announced on Tuesday that the government will regulate the "manufacture, import, export, distribution, sale, use, advertising, and promotion" of e-cigarettes nationwide in order to reduce their sales and consumption.

According to regulations published in Official Gazette No. 42,641, this department stated that it is prohibited to sell these electronic devices to minors and their indoor usage is also prohibited in workplaces, public places, and even on transportation.

The Ministry of Science and Technology stated in a press release that the aim of this regulation is to register, control and monitor the production, sale and distribution of so-called e-cigarettes, in order to avoid serious health hazards to people.

The regulation also mandates that cigarette packaging must provide detailed text explaining the product's ingredients and warnings about the harm and addictive nature of smoking.

In addition, this regulation requires stores to comply with multiple financial requirements when manufacturing, selling, and distributing such products.

The Ministry of Science and Technology in Venezuela reiterated its response to the World Health Organization's warning about the global growth of the nicotine electronic management system market.

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Venezuela has regulated the manufacturing, commercialization, and use of electronic cigarettes.