Finland’s National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) proposed a generational tobacco ban as part of its long-term policy platform, aiming to prohibit tobacco sales from 2030 to individuals born in 2015 or later. The proposal, included in a broader program outlining policy goals through 2040, will be voted on at the party’s congress in June.
Tag: tobacco ban
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Cambodia Solidifies Public Tobacco Ban
Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport issued a directive banning the use, sale, and advertising of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, across a wide range of public spaces, particularly those linked to education and sports. The ban covers schools, training centers, dormitories, workplaces, gyms, and sports venues, and also prohibits the distribution and promotion of such products in and around these locations. Authorities have been instructed to implement health awareness programs and work with parents to identify and report violations for enforcement action.
Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said the measures align with broader government restrictions targeting the import, sale, possession, and production of electronic smoking devices and shisha products. Health experts noted that tobacco use remains prevalent despite existing public smoking bans and called for stronger enforcement.
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Belgium Retail Group Proposes Generational Tobacco Ban
Belgian retail federation Comeos is advocating for a gradual phase-out of tobacco sales to younger generations, proposing a policy that would permanently ban purchases for anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. The approach mirrors the UK’s “smoke-free generation” model and could also extend to vaping products, to reduce tobacco use over time as older consumers age out of the market.
The proposal comes as Belgium prepares to revise its tobacco retail framework after the Constitutional Court struck down a ban on supermarket tobacco sales based on store size. Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke has since pushed for broader restrictions, including a ban on tobacco sales in all food stores, while allowing sales to continue in specialized outlets such as newsagents.
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Vietnam Proposes Banning Tobacco Displays and Alternative Products
The Ministry of Health of Vietnam has proposed banning the display of tobacco products at wholesale and retail outlets and requiring cigarettes to be kept in closed cabinets, under draft amendments to the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms. The proposal was presented at a policy workshop in Hanoi, where Deputy Health Minister Tran Van Thuan said that despite progress over 13 years, Vietnam still has about 15.8 million smokers.
The draft amendments also call for a comprehensive ban on the production, trade, advertising, and use of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and other new tobacco products. Officials said allowing cigarette displays effectively permits point-of-sale advertising and increases access for children, noting that major cities average 13 tobacco outlets near each school. The ministry said the reforms align with the World Health Organization’s WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
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Detroit Bans Smokeless Tobacco Use in Sports Venues, Vapes Not Included
Yesterday (October 21), the Detroit City Council voted 7–2 to ban the use of smokeless tobacco products, including chewing tobacco and nicotine pouches, inside the city’s sports venues. Violations will be treated as a misdemeanor offense with a $100 fine, though offenders will first be given the chance to stop before being penalized.
Supporters said the move is part of the national “Knock Tobacco Out of the Park” campaign, which has the backing of the Detroit Tigers. Detroit now joins 18 other U.S. cities with full smokeless-tobacco bans in professional sports venues, according to the Michigan Chronicle.
Council members Coleman A. Young II and Gabriela Santiago-Romero opposed the measure, citing enforcement concerns and arguing that adults should have the freedom to use tobacco products. Santiago-Romero said that tobacco use is already prohibited at venues such as Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena, but those rules are rarely enforced. “I just don’t see the enforcement,” she said. “There are many other things we should be doing.”
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Vietnam to Ban E-Cigarette and Heated Tobacco Investments
Vietnam plans to ban all investment and business activities related to electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products in a move aimed at protecting public health. The proposal, discussed at the National Assembly’s 50th Standing Committee session, is part of a broader revision of the Investment Law to simplify project approvals and update prohibited business sectors.
Deputy Finance Minister Nguyễn Thị Bích Ngọc said the draft law would restrict prior approval to sensitive projects, including those affecting national security, the environment, or major infrastructure. The ban aligns with Resolution 173 adopted in November 2024, which calls for a nationwide prohibition on the production, trade, import, storage, transportation, and use of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and other addictive substances.
Lawmakers welcomed the reforms while recommending limited exceptions for exports, scientific research, medical use, or national defense. If passed, the measure would mark Vietnam’s strongest action yet against new forms of tobacco, reinforcing the country’s commitment to public health amid the global surge in vaping and heated tobacco use.
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Taiwan Groups Accuse HPA of Undermining Tobacco Control
The Alliance of Banning Cigarettes Taiwan and parent groups accused the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) of undermining tobacco control by greenlighting 14 products recently without disclosing details on brands, devices, or flavor additives, despite Taiwan’s flavored tobacco ban.
Warning that illegal online ads for newly approved heated tobacco products threaten students’ health, parents cited dozens of websites and social media channels openly promoting flavors, fast delivery, and new models.
The HPA defended its approvals as based on risk assessments and promised stricter enforcement, including fines up to NT$25M ($766,000) for illegal online sales and penalties for retailers selling to underage patrons.
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Top Court Reviews Tobacco Ban
The government wants to overturn a lower court’s verdict that the ban was unconstitutional.
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal heard an appeal on Thursday arguing that the tobacco ban during the country’s Covid-19 lockdown was justifiable under the constitution, according to the Times Live.
In December 2020, the Western Cape High Court found that the tobacco ban had breached a number of human rights under the constitution and that the ban was unlawful because it was not “necessary” to prevent escalation or alleviate effects of the disaster (the coronavirus pandemic) as required by the Disaster Management Act.
The ban has not been in effect for a while, and President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the national state of disaster would soon be lifted as well, according to his state of the nation address. It is not guaranteed that another state of disaster would not be declared due to new and potentially more harmful Covid-19 variants, however. The court decision on the tobacco ban is important, then, because it would set precedent for future states of disaster.
“In a situation of evolving scientific knowledge, and with infection numbers rising and likely to continue to do so, the government had to take a cautious approach,” said Andrew Breitenbach, counsel for the government, arguing that the court judgment should not stand.
The goal of the ban was to relieve the strain on the healthcare system, and Breitenbach argued that the science at the time showed that smokers had higher rates of hospitalization and severe illness from Covid-19.
Alfred Cockrell, counsel for BAT South Africa, said it that the government needed to show that stopping smoking during lockdown would reverse or lessen the progression of Covid-19, not just that stopping smoking had an immediate “general good” effect.
“The point is that the dangers from cigarette smoking result from long-term chronic use,” Cockrell said.
More than 18 months after South Africa lifted its tobacco ban, the country is still coping with elevated levels of illicit cigarette sales.