According to Brazilian media Metropoles, Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) plans to start a public consultation on e-cigarette regulation in the second half of this year.
Antonio Barra Torres, President of Anvisa, revealed that the public consultation process is still in the formulation stage.
Currently, Brazil bans the sale, import and distribution of e-cigarettes, and violators can face fines of up to 1.5 million reais (about 2.25 million yuan).
During the public consultation period, social and economic parties involved in the issue will have time to submit comments, suggestions and criticisms to the agency.
According to Ipec, the number of e-cigarette users in Brazil has grown from 500,000 to 2.2 million, and in the capital Brasilia, 4% of the population has used e-cigarettes.
Because illegal products cannot be taxed, the Brazilian government loses 2.2 billion reais (about 3.1 billion yuan) every year, and the country loses 110,000 jobs.
British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International have both expressed views on e-cigarette regulation in Brazil, and Lauro Anhezini Jr, head of scientific and regulatory affairs at BAT Brazil, said:
“If more harmful cigarettes can be sold legally, BAT cannot understand why e-cigarettes are banned in the country, where more than 80 countries already regulate them.” It’s a 95 percent reduction in risk compared to traditional cigarettes.”
BAT said it has plans to expand the plant to accommodate e-cigarette production and will initially use imported components for e-cigarette assembly. PMI representatives said that if Brazil’s National Health Supervision agency lifts the ban on e-cigarettes, heating and non-burning products, PMI will plan to build a new plant in Rio Grande do Sul (southern Brazilian city).
References:
[1] O proximo passo para a Anvisa regular cigarros eletronicos