Tobacco Asia

28 tobaccoasia Issue 4, 2025 July / August Personal possession or use of vapes is also an offense punishable by up to SGD2,000 fine. Singapore enforces these laws vigorously at checkpoints and online. A high profile campaign shows packs of nicotine vapes being destroyed or seized. The authorities believe vaping is harmful and addictive: the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) notes that vapes deliver high doses of nicotine and toxic substances and is currently reviewing whether tougher pen- alties are needed. Only about 11% of Singaporean adults smoke cigarettes, and vaping rates among youths remain very low under the ban. Laos Electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products are banned in Laos. The amended Tobacco Control Law prohibits the use, manufacture, import, export, transport or sale of vaping products. A 2020 amendment explicitly extended this ban to cover heated tobacco products, as well. Any use of vapes or HTP in public places is forbidden. In practice, authorities confiscate vape devices under anti-drug or tobacco laws, and users risk fines or detention. Reports suggest penalties on the order of LAK2 million (US$200) for possession. Cambodia Vapes are "effectively" illegal in Cambodia. In 2014, the National Author- ity for Combating Drugs issued Circular 001/14 banning the consumption, sale, and import of shisha and e cigarettes. Under that order, police and drug agencies must seize vape products and stop all trade in them. HTP are not specifically mentioned in the circular but would likely fall under the same ban. Despite this, illegal vape shops do occasionally appear in Phnom Penh and other cities, leading to periodic police raids and arrests, according to media reports. Offenders who are caught selling or using vapes can face detention under the anti-drug law. In short: no legal vaping market exists. Myanmar At present, Myanmar has no specific regulations on e-cigarettes or heated tobacco, and the 2006 Tobacco Control Law does not cover vapor devices. As a result, vaping products have entered the market relatively freely (often smug- gled or sold via informal networks). Enforcement has been limited. The junta government's policy on nicotine vaping remains unclear, though seizures of e-cigarettes at ports occasionally make news. For now, however, both nico- tine and non-nicotine vapes exist in a legal gray zone, without licensing or age limits. No official penalties are prescribed, so violators are usually treated under general public nuisance or drug laws case by case. Brunei Brunei maintains one of the strictest anti-tobacco regimes in the region and has long banned e cigarettes and HTP. Brunei's Tobacco Order and related regu- lations (amended in 2012) prohibit any sale or use of electronic nicotine de- livery systems (ENDS). In practice, that means no licensing for vape retailers; customs checkpoints confiscate any e-cigarette shipments. Violations can lead to prosecution under the Tobacco Control Order, with offenders facing fines and imprisonment (historically penalties for tobacco offenses are severe, though exact vape fines are not publicly detailed). Enforcement in recent years has been firm: authorities even warned that bringing vapes into the country – as goods or in luggage – is illegal. Looking ahead Southeast Asia's patchwork of policies regulating the nicotine market isn't expected to change anytime soon. Governments repeatedly cite youth pro- tection and uncertain health effects as reasons for restriction, when several studies have the health effects of vaping are much less than the impacts of combustible tobacco smoke. Studies have also shown that a regulated vaping market can help existing smokers quit smoking. Major health bodies (WHO, ASEAN Tobacco Control Alliance, Bloomberg Initiative grantees) have generally supported the bans or tight limits, warning of youth uptake. Industry players counter that overly strict bans may push users back to deadly cigarettes or to a black market. As of mid-2025, no ASEAN countries are planning to legalize vaping beyond existing frameworks. The reality is that trends point to stricter enforcement (Singapore/Thailand regulatory reviews, Malaysia's display ban, Viet- nam's 2025 total ban) and incremental tightening of packaging, taxation and age rules. So, it seems likely that combustible cigarette smoking will remain widespread across much of Southeast Asia. WHO data shows that male adult combustible smoking rates in Singapore and Bru- nei (with strong tobacco controls) are below 12%. However, smoking rates exceed 60% in Indonesia and Myanmar, are around 40–50% in Vietnam and Cambodia, and are roughly 20–30% in Malaysia and Thailand. These smoking baselines help ex- plain many regulatory choices. Countries with high tobacco burdens (Indonesia, Philippines) tend to allow vaping with strict regulations, while those with aggressive anti-tobacco policies (Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Laos) have opted to ban vapes outright. It's difficult to provide a precise number of daily deaths in ASEAN countries from tobacco- related diseases. However, the Asia Pacific Heart Network states that the Asia-Pacific region, which includes ASEAN countries, experiences 2.3 mil- lion tobacco-related deaths annually. This trans- lates to approximately 6,300 deaths per day in the region. Those numbers are expected to remain the same for the foreseeable future. Vaping became illegal in Vietnam this year. Credit: Võ Văn Tiến, Pexels.

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