Fourteen heated tobacco products from two tobacco companies were conditionally approved after health risk assessment reviews mandated by 2023 amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法), the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday.
The conditional approval does not mean that any heated tobacco products people have are immediately legalized, Tobacco Prevention Division Director Lo Su-ying (羅素英) said.
Products would not be considered legal until distributors have received official notice of the decision and have implemented required changes to the labeling and packaging of the products, Lo said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
The two companies were among seven that have applied for inspections, the HPA said.
Stricter controls would be implemented across the board for heated tobacco products, it said.
Specialists subjected the 14 products to toxicology, clinical pharmacology, addiction and public health reviews, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare also inspected them, Lo said.
Conditions under which the products were approved include that young people and pregnant women must be protected from them, and they may not be sold to people younger than 20, she said.
The HPA would monitor sales channels and enforce the regulations, she said.
The companies should contract a third party to monitor and research the products’ impact after they are approved for sale, Lo said, adding that the research must be fully funded and be statistically relevant.
The companies must submit annual reports on heated tobacco product use, as well as rates of abuse, addiction and other risks linked to the use of the approved products, she said.
The HPA must be notified immediately if the companies identify factors that increase the likelihood of addiction, Lo said, adding that any changes to manufacturing processes would require a reassessment of the products.
Labeling must adhere to regulations and marketing should not use misleading terms or phrasings, Lo said.
Contraventions of the conditions or the act would not be tolerated, she said, adding that the HPA would take immediate action, potentially leading to the termination of the approval.
According to the 2023 amendments, electronic cigarettes are generally banned, while heated tobacco products face strict controls.
Heated tobacco products and other similar items can only be sold after they have passed a health risk assessment, the amendments say.
The Customs Administration said yesterday that travelers are still barred from bringing heated tobacco products into Taiwan, even as authorities move forward with conditional approval for commercial imports.
It added that potential changes to personal import rules remain under discussion between government agencies, with no timeline yet provided for a decision.
Customs officials said heated tobacco products seized before March 22, 2023, may be reclaimed within three months of approval, while unclaimed items could be destroyed.
Illegal imports seized after that date will be referred to the local competent authority, the agency added.
Since the law's amendment, the customs agency has confiscated more than 4 million packs of heated tobacco products, it added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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