HANOI: The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Monday (Sept 21) endorsed plans to write a ban on e-cigarettes into law and to introduce time-of-use electricity pricing for households.
The tobacco bill would turn into statute a prohibition that the National Assembly imposed in Resolution 173 in 2025, which banned e-cigarettes and heated tobacco to protect public health, particularly among the youth.
It would outlaw the production, trade, storage, transport, import, export, transit and use of such products, as well as the devices, components and liquids used to make them. It would also ban the display of tobacco products.
Deputy Health Minister Vu Manh Ha, who presented the bill, said it adds legal definitions of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, tobacco display and direct tobacco marketing to consumers. He said clear definitions would give authorities a consistent standard and avoid disputes over how to identify and prove violations.
The bill would also cut red tape. It would scrap the licences required to sell tobacco and remove business conditions for setting up smoking cessation and counselling services.
At the Ministry of Industry and Trade's request, it would drop a requirement for special approval when a company produces tobacco for export beyond its authorised output.
The bill would shift some approval powers from the Prime Minister to the Minister of Industry and Trade, including authority over contracts that transfer or license industrial property rights used for products such as cigarettes, cigars and tobacco.
Nguyen Dac Vinh, chairman of the NA Committee for Culture and Social Affairs, said the draft was largely consistent with the constitution and international treaties.
His committee urged drafters to prepare detailed implementing regulations alongside the bill to explain how they plan to address weaknesses in existing tobacco controls that were reviewed but left unamended.
NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh said the bill must not trade oversight for deregulation, warning that cuts to licensing and business conditions could erode the State's ability to control tobacco output, supply and sales.
She also said the bill's definitions and list of prohibited acts should be written broadly enough to cover products not yet on the market.
The legislator also called for workable rules to keep tobacco from people under 18, including how to verify buyers' ages and police online sales. Authorities must be able to inspect, monitor and punish violations in practice, she said.
Thanh also asked drafters to justify scrapping the rules on cessation counselling and to ensure the change does not leave a regulatory gap or erode service quality.
"The bill must be checked against the laws on investment, commerce and customs, with clear lines of authority and responsibility," she said. - Vietnam News/ANN
