Need synchronous and regular involvement
A report by the Ministry of Public Security shows that previously, the whole country recorded over 100 cases related to these products each year, many of which included drug elements, smuggling, counterfeit goods, and goods of unknown origin. However, in 2025, the number of cases related to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco with drug elements was only 5 cases.
Sharing about this issue, according to Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the Legal Department (Ministry of Health), since Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15 of the National Assembly took effect, the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco has tended to decrease.
Preventing e-cigarettes and heated tobacco cannot just stop at administrative sanctions, but requires the synchronous and regular involvement of management agencies, functional forces and the whole society to protect public health, especially youth.
Reality in the healthcare sector also recorded positive signs. At Bach Mai Hospital, previously receiving 5-6 cases of poisoning related to e-cigarettes each month, but after the ban was implemented, the number of hospitalizations decreased to about 1-2 cases per month. "This is a very encouraging sign," Ms. Thuy said.
According to Mr. Phan Cong Hieu, representative of the Legal Department (Ministry of Health), Decree No. 371/2025/ND-CP has supplemented specific sanctions for the act of using, storing, and trading e-cigarettes and heated tobacco.
Accordingly, users of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco will be fined from 3-5 million VND. People who harbor, allow or condone others to use these products at locations under their ownership or management will be fined from 5-10 million VND. All violating exhibits must be destroyed to prevent reuse or return to the market.
To ensure deterrence and enforcement capacity, the sanctioning authority is expanded to many functional forces, including People's Committees at all levels, market management, police, customs, border guards and coast guards.
For acts of producing, trading, storing, and illegally transporting e-cigarettes and heated tobacco in large quantities, violators may be criminally handled according to regulations on trading in prohibited goods, with fines ranging from 50 million to 1 billion VND or imprisonment from 6 months to 5 years.
Reality shows that for the ban to truly be effective, the synchronous and regular involvement of ministries, sectors, enforcement forces and authorities at all levels is needed, not allowing addictive and harmful products to take advantage of legal loopholes to return to the market.
Detecting and processing e-cigarettes in the digital environment faces difficulties
The current reality shows that controlling e-cigarettes in the digital environment is still a major challenge. Regarding this issue, a representative of the Legal Department (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) said that the advertising activities of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco on the internet and digital platforms are often "disguised" as technology products, lifestyle accessories, causing difficulties for detection and handling.
In addition, the situation of smuggling and underground marketing of banned products through social networks and e-commerce platforms still occurs, requiring closer coordination between ministries, sectors and functional forces.
From this reality, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism proposes to continue to improve the legal framework, study and supplement names and forms of e-cigarettes to avoid taking advantage of legal loopholes.
At the same time, it is proposed that the Ministry of Health study and propose the establishment of an inter-sectoral inspection organization to operate regularly to strengthen the supervision of the production, business, import, transportation and use of addictive products that are harmful to health.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi An, Director of HealthBridge Canada in Vietnam, international experience shows that the effective implementation of the ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco requires a synchronous combination of law, education, communication, consulting and strict implementation.
Along with border and domestic market control, it is necessary to invest resources in detecting and removing illegal advertising and trading on the online environment; and at the same time promote communication and education to mobilize the participation of families, schools and communities in protecting children and teenagers from addictive products.
According to the Domestic Market Management and Development Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), from 2014 to September 2025, the whole country discovered and handled 79,459 violations related to tobacco, with more than 59,000 subjects. The market management force alone handled 38,275 cases, seized nearly 1 million units of new generation tobacco products, fined administrative violations of more than 164 billion VND and transferred 160 cases to investigating agencies.
Despite achieving many results, functional agencies recognize that the situation of smuggling and trading in e-cigarettes and heated tobacco is still developing complicatedly, with increasingly sophisticated tricks, causing budget losses and posing a great risk to public health.
Experts believe that, to effectively prevent e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, it is necessary to continue to improve the legal system in a synchronous direction, increase deterrence, ensure close coordination between sectors and levels, and at the same time raise people's awareness.
The overarching goal is to eliminate addictive and harmful products from social life, protect people's health and improve the quality of life.
