The Brazilian Health Supervision Agency refuses to lift the ban on e-cigarettes

According to the Brazilian Health Supervision Agency (Anvisa) on April 19th, it has been decided to maintain the ban on e-cigarettes in the country. This ban, which came into effect in 2009, will continue to be implemented nationwide, including prohibiting the sale, manufacturing, import, transportation, storage, and advertising of electronic cigarette products. The five directors jointly voted to maintain this ban.
These smoking devices, also known as vapes, e-cigarettes, e-pipes, e-cigarettes, and heat not burn, are collectively referred to as e-cigarettes. Anvisa notified that any form of importing these products is prohibited, including for personal use or for travelers to carry with them.
According to the Brazilian Health Supervision Agency, although the regulations do not cover personal use, the use of these devices in enclosed public environments is prohibited. If there is a violation, it will be considered a hygiene violation and will be subject to penalties such as warnings, bans, recalls, and fines. According to the Covitel 2023 telephone survey on risk factors for chronic non communicable diseases during the pandemic, although sales were not authorized, 4 million people have already used e-cigarettes in Brazil.
Antonio Barra Torres, Chairman and Report Writer of Anvisa, voted in favor of continuing to ban these devices. He said, "The issues we are addressing involve not only the health impacts we have been working on, but also production, sales, storage, transportation, and other issues related to the production of a product. This product is currently being voted on, and what we are recording here is maintaining a ban."
Bara Torres sought opinions from 32 scientific associations, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety, and the Ministry of Finance in Brazil. He mentioned public consultations conducted between December 2023 and February this year, although the arguments presented did not change the evidence approved by the 2022 Council.
In his report, Barra Torres cited documents from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU), as well as the Belgian government's decision to ban the sale of all heated tobacco products with additives that alter their odor and taste. He mentioned that this week the UK passed a bill prohibiting people born after January 1, 2009, who are under the age of 15, from purchasing cigarettes.
He also mentioned that the federal agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pointed out that even with regulation, these products still have illegal transactions.
At the Anvisa board meeting, videos of individuals and businesses from 80 different countries were presented, including various statements supporting and opposing the continued ban on the use of e-cigarette devices in Brazil.
Most of the views supporting maintaining bans involve harm to public health. Adriana Blanco, Secretary of the National Committee on the Implementation of the Global Tobacco Control Framework and its Protocol (Coniq) of the World Health Organization (OMS), expressed concern about the strategic marketing of public health and tobacco industries in countries that allow consumption of these products, particularly the increase in consumption among young people.