Nepal and Pakistan challenge the wave of e-cigarette bans. The court calls government decisions illegal and without democratic mandate.
Prohibition wave meets headwinds
Bans on vaping and e-cigarettes are sweeping across Asia. Singapore, Vietnam and India have already shut down the market. But now the wave has slowed - at least temporarily. Courts in both Nepal and Pakistan have overruled government attempts to impose total bans.
At the end of 2023, the government of Nepal announced an immediate ban on all e-cigarettes and non-tobacco nicotine products. The justification: public health. But the law? The government was on its own.
Supreme Court: "No legal basis"
Shortly after the ban was imposed, the importer Multi National Trading House alarm. According to the company, the government had no legal basis for the intervention. Vape products are already regulated in the Tobacco Act - and there is no ban there.
Nepal's Supreme Court agreed: "The ban lacks legal authority and violates the constitution of the country," the court said, criticising the government for disregarding the judicial process.
Result: The ban is lifted - at least until the court makes a final decision.
Pakistan follows suit
In Pakistan, the government also tried to close the market by 2023 - without changing legislation or involving parliament.
Now a court in Punjab province has put the ban on hold. The vape industry argued that the government exceeded its powers, and the court ruled in their favour - for now.
This means that e-cigarettes can still be sold in Punjab, while the rest of the country is in legal limbo.
Asia sticks to the hard line
Although Nepal and Pakistan are curbing prohibitionism, vaping is under massive pressure in much of the region.
Singapore has zero tolerance - and the death penalty for smuggling. In Vietnam, both sale and use is completely banned, even for tourists. India closed the market in 2019, but many citizens are unaware of the ban. Hong Kong banned e-cigarettes in 2022 - with cigarette smoking on the rise. And Malaysia is currently preparing stricter regulations for both vaping and nicotine products.
Experts: Banning undermines harm reduction
The fact that courts are now putting their foot down is seen by many as a sign of health - for democracy, but also for public health.
"Bans introduced in haste or without a legal basis fall quickly. And ultimately, they work against the goal of reducing harm from nicotine," writes Jim McDonald of Vaping360.
He calls the decisions in Nepal and Pakistan "an important reminder that even health arguments must be balanced with due process".
Hope for e-cigarettes?
It's perhaps a sign that vaping is not doomed in Asia - at least not legally. The Philippines has chosen to regulate rather than ban, and in Thailand, the government is considering dropping its ban and introducing taxes instead.
Research: Vaping less harmful than smoking
According to major international health authorities - from the UK to New Zealand - vaping is currently the most effective and widely used smoking cessation tool in the West. E-cigarettes are considered significantly less harmful than tobacco - provided the products are regulated.
But the WHO disagrees and considers vaping to be just as problematic as cigarettes. Instead, the organisation recommends nicotine replacement therapy and tight restrictions on smokeless products.
Read more about the e-vapour ban in Asia (via VapeTjek's sister magazine in Sweden, Vejpkollen.se)
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