Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) The Legislative Yuan on Thursday passed a slew of amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act that completely ban e-cigarettes and raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 20.
The revisions introduced by the Cabinet in January last year stipulate that the manufacture, import, sale, supply, display, advertising and use of all tobacco-like products, including e-cigarettes, shall be prohibited.
Violators face fines ranging from NT$10 million (US$328,403) to NT$50 million, according to the new law.
The revised law also includes a provision for regulating novel and emerging tobacco products, such as heated tobacco products, which are currently not included in the act.
The new law clearly stipulates that business operators seeking to sell designated new tobacco products in Taiwan should conduct health risk assessments of those products, which must be sent to the competent authority for review, to determine whether they can be manufactured or imported.
The revised law states that the health risk assessments submitted by business operators should include data about designated tobacco products and related components, such as heaters for heating tobacco.
It stipulates that if the assessments are not sanctioned by the authority, business operators will not be able to manufacture such products for sale in Taiwan and cannot advertise or market them.
Tobacco products with flavors that include fruit, flower, chocolate, mint, or other banned additives will also be banned.
According to the new law, the legal smoking age will be raised to 20 and smoking will be banned in more areas including all school campuses, kindergartens, baby care centers, and in-home child care locations.
The amended law also includes a provision to increase the current warning graphic and text area on product packages from 35 percent to 50 percent of the total package surface.
The date the statute will be implemented shall be fixed by the Executive Yuan, but it will come into force within one month of being promulgated, while the regulation regarding the size of the warning area on product packages shall be implemented within one year of promulgation, according to the revisions.
Meanwhile, an amendment to the Tobacco and Alcohol Tax Act also cleared the legislative floor Thursday in line with the passage of the revised Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, specifying that the tax on all tobacco products other than cigarettes, cut tobacco and cigars shall be levied at NT$1,590 per kilogram or NT$1,590 per 1,000 sticks, whichever is higher.
Currently, the tax on other tobacco products is levied at NT$1,590 per kg.
