Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/680166
tobaccoasia 39 lawed. Yet anyone caught using an e-cigarette in a no-smoking area can be fined US$300 for the first offence and US$500 for subsequent offences – just like a regular cigarette smoker. Neighboring Indonesia, meanwhile, doesn't dabble. The law is clear: e-cigarettes of any kind are banned, banned, banned, including the import and sale. Yet this doesn't deter some entrepre- neurs who still continue retailing e-cigarettes in the country, sometimes rather openly and especially in popular tourist resorts. Also, so far personal use appears to prompt no backlash from the authori- ties. Some international travelers have however reported in the social media that their e-smoking devices were confiscated by customs upon enter- ing the country through an airport. The city state of Singapore at the tip of the Malaysian peninsula has long been known for its tough stance on regular tobacco consumption. But the country currently also bans the import, distri- bution, sale, and use of e-smoking devices of any description under section 16 (1) of its Tobacco Act, which is enforced by the Health Sciences Au- thority (HSA). The Act defines e-cigarettes as "any confectionery or other food product or any toy or other article that is designed to resemble a tobacco product or the packaging of which is designed to resemble the packaging commonly associated with tobacco products." Violators are liable to a fine of up to SGD5,000 – although conviction in a court of law is needed. Since December 2015, e-smok- ing accessories – specifically e-liquids – have also been included in the ban. In November 2014, Thailand approved leg- islation outlawing the import of e-cigarettes into the country. This has since been expanded to the export as well as sale of e-smoking devices and equipment. According to a report in the English- language daily newspaper Bangkok Post, violators can be imprisoned for up to 10 years and/or are subject to a fine equivalent to five times the value of imported, exported or retailed goods seized by the authorities. Personal possession doesn't seem to be illegal, though, and the popular internet- based vaping forum Ashtray Blog points out that travelers haven't had problems bringing devices through customs. Cambodia likewise banned e-cigarettes in 2014, allegedly after an obscure study found the devices contained "high levels of nicotine that could cause a more serious impact on health than cigarettes." However, the Wall Street Journal re- ported at the time that it was actually Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen himself who ordered the ban on imports and sales of e-cigarettes "for fear they are having a negative impact on the youth." Meanwhile, the aforementioned Ashtray Blog wrote that the ban resulted in "something of a