The Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) would be amended so that possession of e-cigarettes would be subject to confiscation and a fine of up to NT$10,000, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday, following recent drug-impaired driving cases linked to “zombie vapes” laced with etomidate.
A previous amendment to the act that came into effect on March 22, 2023, banned e-cigarettes and similar products, imposed stricter controls on new tobacco products such as heated tobacco and introduced a health risk assessment for reviewing them.
Yet while e-cigarettes and other tobacco-like products are illegal and contravening regulations is subject to a fine of up to NT$5 million, there is no specific penalty for merely possessing e-cigarettes, Shih told a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee yesterday, adding that the law would be amended to close this loophole.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
The law penalizes use but not possession of e-cigarettes, but people do not usually carry them for no reason, Shih told a news conference yesterday afternoon, emphasizing that the law needs to be amended again.
Regulations on online sales and advertising of e-cigarettes would be strengthened, and the concept of “responsible administration” would be introduced, meaning platform management should proactively ensure illegal products or advertisements are not distributed, he said.
The proposed amendment has been submitted to the Executive Yuan and should enter the legislative process soon, Shih said.
In future, people possessing e-cigarettes, related components or devices would not only have them confiscated, but could face fines of NT$2,000 to NT$10,000, in line with penalties for use, he said.
The amendment would also require online platforms to set up systems to manage and reduce the risk of illegal tobacco-related content, Health Promotion Administration (HPA) Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) said.
Platforms would not be able to avoid responsibility by saying their content is open or automatically generated, and must submit their management systems to the government for review, Shen said.
The HPA is already monitoring online content and notifies Web site operators if it finds posts advertising or selling e-cigarettes, she said.
The amendment would enable authorities to restrict access or remove illegal content to quickly reduce its spread and lower the risk of exposure, she added.
The proposed amendment is meant to use penalties as an educational tool, helping society distinguish right from wrong amid aggressive online marketing of e-cigarettes, Action Alliance on Basic Education president Wang Han-yang (王瀚陽) said.
The current law has made it difficult for schools to deal with students possessing e-cigarettes, often limiting action to temporary confiscation as simply possessing them is not illegal, Wang said.
The amendment would allow schools to hand over seized devices for official confiscation, improving enforcement and reducing the presence of e-cigarettes on campuses, he said.
Additional reporting by Lo Pi
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