Electronic cigarette (e-cigarettes) retailers will now have to be registered and licensed.
Cabinet has endorsed the Health Ministry’s Amendments to the Tobacco Control Decree 2010 to regulate e-cigarettes on Tuesday.
A Cabinet meeting last October reflected its full support and agreed that e-cigarette should be regulated with special emphasis on several areas.
These include manufacturers, importers and retailers to be registered and licensed annually, ban on advertising and promotion of the product, ban on the sales to persons under the age of 18years, and ban the use of these products in certain public places.
A statement said it was necessary to regulate e-cigarettes because they were aggressively entering into global, regional and domestic markets with unproven claims of safety and efficacy as smoking cessation aids.
“E-cigarettes” are defined as any electronic device consisting of a battery-powered heating element, cartridge and atomiser that is shaped like a cigarette, cigar or pipe designed to deliver nicotine or other substances to a user in the form of a vapour.
