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Tag: Nepal

  • Silk Group Chair Charged in Nepal with $126M Vape Smuggling Case

    Silk Group Chair Charged in Nepal with $126M Vape Smuggling Case

    Nepal’s Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) filed a case against 12 individuals, including Silk Group chairperson Ramesh Sherpa, over alleged involvement in the large-scale smuggling of Chinese electronic cigarettes. The case, lodged at the Lalitpur District Court on August 14, seeks prison terms and fines totaling nearly Rs17.5 billion ($126 million).

    Investigators allege the group used about 100 shipping containers to import vapes disguised as legitimate goods through the Tatopani customs point, bypassing the government’s import ban. A January raid on a Silk warehouse in Sitallheight seized 86,400 vapes, with further evidence collected from company sites in Balkumari and Naxal. Authorities claim Sherpa and his associates fabricated records, created fake transactions, and sold nearly 39,000 vapes without bills, leading to estimated revenue losses of Rs873 million ($6.3 million).

    The DRI has demanded maximum prison terms for Sherpa, his brother-in-law Vijay Sherpa, and other key defendants, while seeking reduced sentences for two secondary accomplices. Officials say the total recovery sought exceeds Rs1.74 billion ($12.5 million), and investigations are continuing, with some seized shipments still held at Tatopani customs warehouses.

  • Nepal Court Lifts Ban on E-Cigarettes

    Nepal Court Lifts Ban on E-Cigarettes

    The Patan High Court in Nepal ordered the government to lift its restrictions on the import and sale of e-cigarettes, allowing vape businesses to resume operations. According to myRepublica, a Division Bench of Justices Kabi Prasad Neupane and Hemant Rawal issued the verdict in favor of Vape Mandu Traders, who filed a writ against several government bodies, including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, and the Customs Department.

    The court ruled that the government’s attempt to enforce a vape ban, based on a 2015 tobacco directive, was not legally sufficient to justify blocking trade. Customs offices halted vape imports after circulars were issued by the Ministry of Health’s education and communication wing.

    In the last fiscal year, Nepal collected over Rs 230 million ($1.7 million) in customs revenue from vape imports, highlighting the sector’s economic footprint.

  • Nepal to Require 100% Warnings on Tobacco Packaging

    Nepal to Require 100% Warnings on Tobacco Packaging

    Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population announced that it will increase the warning messages required on tobacco packaging from 90% to 100% effective August 17. It will be required that warning messages in Nepali and “fatal” color images be printed on the inside as well as outside of boxes, packets, wrappers, cartons, parcels, and packaging materials of cigarettes, bidi, chewing tobacco, loose tobacco, and gutkha.

    Ministry Secretary Gopi Krishna Regmi and Secretariat of Health Tax Fund, Kathmandu, said they are amending the Tobacco Products (Control and Regulatory) Act 2068 BS (2011) to prevent manufacturers from branding the products, and to keep homogeneity in the labeling of packages.

  • Nepal’s Plan to License Tobacco Faces Pushback 

    Nepal’s Plan to License Tobacco Faces Pushback 

    Nepal Industry Minister Damodar Bhandari is preparing to grant licenses to the cigarette, tobacco (gutkha), and alcohol industries, according to Republica. The Consumer Awareness Campaign-Nepal (CAC-N), however, expressed strong objection to the government’s plan. CAC-N Chairperson Krishna Prasad Bhandari urged the government not to permit the production of items harmful to public health.  

    In a case where the Supreme Court issued a directive to control tobacco products, CAC-N raised concerns that granting licenses to such industries would constitute contempt of court. President Bhattarai stated that the campaign has also urged Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to take the issue seriously for the protection of public health and property, and urged Minister Bhandari to immediately halt the license distribution process. 

    CAC-N said allowing such industries to operate is troubling and has called for a reversal of the decision, stating that it benefits only a few industrialists.

  • Nepal Goes All-In on Health Packaging

    Nepal Goes All-In on Health Packaging

    The Global Tobacco Treaty (formally called the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control or WHO FCTC) called on governments to implement strong pictorial health warnings to “help save lives from deadly tobacco.” Nepal took that to heart, announcing that beginning August 17, all cigarette packs will be required to have 100% pictorial health warnings on both the front and back of the packaging.

    Since 2014, Nepal had 90% graphic health warnings on both sides of its packaging, the most in the world behind only Timor-Leste and Turkiye, which both had 85% coverage on the front and 100% on the back. In August Nepal will move to No. 1.

    “Nepal has set a global benchmark by adopting 100% pictorial health warnings on tobacco packaging,” said Dr. Tara Singh Bam, Asia Pacific Director (Tobacco Control) Vital Strategies. “This policy is a powerful tool to prevent smoking among youth and children, encourage tobacco users to quit, and raise public awareness about the dangers of tobacco use. It is a highly cost-effective intervention that not only saves lives and reduces healthcare costs, but also helps to denormalize tobacco in our communities. This remarkable achievement is a testament to the strong political commitment and timely actions of the Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal.”

  • Nepali Lawmaker Uncovers Privatization ‘Plot’

    Nepali Lawmaker Uncovers Privatization ‘Plot’

    Scandalously scheming (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)

    A Nepali lawmaker has uncovered “a plot” to privatize the Janakpur Cigarette Factory, reports The Rising Nepal.

    Bimalendra Nidhi, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party, said that while government officials had informed him that they were in the process of renewing the company’s license, he had heard rumors that the factory was in fact being prepared for privatization.

    Nidhi reminded reporters that the Janakpur Cigarette Factory is the property of Madhes Province and that his party would protest any plans for privatization because it would contravene the principle of federalism.

  • Nepal to Ban Vapes as ‘Tobacco’ Use Spikes

    Nepal to Ban Vapes as ‘Tobacco’ Use Spikes

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Nepal is poised to ban e-cigarettes, according to Bhakta Bahadur KC, information officer at the National Health Education, Information and Communication Center, reports MyRepublica.

    The legislation is a response to rising e-cigarette use among youth. Nepal imported 3.2 million e-cigarettes in 2023. The business is worth an estimated NPR210 million ($1.5 billion).

    Contradicting studies suggesting that vaping is at least 95 percent less risky than smoking. KC said e-cigarettes are as harmful to health as cigarettes.

    In related news, a recent survey by the Nepal Development Research Institute revealed that 34.1 percent of the Nepalese population uses tobacco in one form or another, up from 31.8 percent in 2020.

    Nearly 18 percent of those aged between 15 to 24 use tobacco, with 8.9 percent preferring smoking and 6.3 percent prefer smokeless tobacco. A small percentage (2.7) engages in both practices. Among individuals aged between 25 to 39, tobacco use is at 26.5 percent, with 8.7 percent of them smoking, 13 percent using smokeless tobacco, and 4.9 percent doing both.

    Likewise, 41.6 percent of individuals aged between 40 to 54 use various forms of tobacco products. Within this age group, 11.1 percent smoke, 26.7 percent use smokeless tobacco products and 3.7 percent use both. Similarly, among those aged 55 to 69, tobacco product usage is at 56.7 percent—16 percent smoke, 33.8 percent use smokeless tobacco, and 6.8 percent use both forms of tobacco.

    Among the male population of the country, 55.8 percent of men use some form of tobacco, while 11.2 percent of women use tobacco.

    NDRI researcher Kamal Chaulagain attributed the rise of tobacco consumption to the increasing popularity of hookah and e-cigarettes, which some users view as smoking alternatives, and called for higher taxes.  

    NDRI head Jaya Kumar Gurung, blamed lax enforcement of the Anti-Smoking Act. He emphasized the lack of public awareness regarding the harmful effects of tobacco products.

  • Court Stays Kathmandu Ban on Plastic Packs

    Court Stays Kathmandu Ban on Plastic Packs

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Patan High Court on Dec. 15 stayed the Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s decision to ban the sale of tobacco products packed in plastics, reports The Kathmandu Post.

     Judges Janak Pandey and Brajesh Pyakurel issued an interim order not to implement the decision while responding to a tobacco company’s petition against the decision of the metropolis.

    In early December, the city announced a ban on the sale of tobacco products packed in plastics in the areas under its jurisdiction from Dec. 13. In its ruling, the court argued that tobacco companies are preparing to pack their products in biodegradable packages.

     Kathmandu tried to ban tobacco several times before, but failed on each occasion.

  • Kathmandu to Ban Plastic-Pack Products

    Kathmandu to Ban Plastic-Pack Products

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Kathmandu will ban the sale of tobacco products in all its 32 wards from Dec. 13, 2023, reports myRepublica.

    Ram Prasad Poudel, chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s (KMC) health department, said the measure would apply to the sale, storage and use of all tobacco products packaged in plastic. This includes not only cigarettes and bidis, but also tamakhu, sulfa, kakkad, gutkha and paan parag, among other regional products.  

     “We are on a campaign of making Kathmandu a healthy city,” said Poudel.

    The KMC reportedly plans to apply similar measures to water pipe tobacco at a later stage.

  • Health Minister Wants Larger Share Taxes

    Health Minister Wants Larger Share Taxes

    Photo: MemoryMan

    MemoryMan

    The government of Nepal should direct all the money its collects from tobacco products to the Ministry of Health and Population, Health Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet told lawmakers on July 13, according to a report in My Republica. 

    The Nepalese state earns an estimated NPR6 billion ($45.66 million) in tobacco taxes annually. The health ministry, however, receives only NPR4 billion, Basnet lamented.

    The additional tax revenues could be used to add more doctors and health workers, he suggested.