Singapore to ban emerging tobacco products from mid-December

Singapore will ban emerging tobacco products—those that are not currently available in Singapore as well as existing products in the local market—beginning Dec. 15, the ministry of health announced on June 15.

The ban is a “pre-emptive measure to protect public health against the known and potential harms of such products,” the ministry said in a news release, adding that the ban will be implemented in two phases.

The first phase, which will take effect Dec. 15, covers products that are currently not available in Singapore. Banned products include smokeless cigars; smokeless cigarillos or smokeless cigarettes; dissolvable tobacco or nicotine; any product containing nicotine or tobacco that may be used topically for application either by implant or injection into any part of the body; and any solution or substance, of which tobacco or nicotine is a constituent, that is intended to be used with an electronic nicotine-delivery system or vaporizer—such as e-cigarettes.

The second phase, which will take effect Aug. 1, 2016, will cover existing products in the local market. Banned products include nasal snuff and oral snuff as well as gutkha, khaini and zarda.

According to the ministry of health, the ban on existing products in the local market will take effect at a later date in order to give businesses time to adjust their operating models and deplete their existing stock.