On the morning of November 27, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Law on Investment (amended). Some delegates talked about the regulation prohibiting investment in the production, trading and trading of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
Delegate Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi Delegation) cited the regulation that the National Assembly agreed to ban the production, trading, import, storage, transportation, and use of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, gases, and addictive substances that are harmful to human health from 2025.
On November 18, 2025, WHO sent a letter to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The letter stated that Vietnam's drastic action in banning these toxic products was commended by the WHO Director General at the World Health Assembly meeting in May 2025.
Also in the letter, WHO recommended: the National Assembly's ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products should be reflected in the replacement Law and without any exceptions.
To complete the draft law, delegate Nguyen Anh Tri suggested that Clause 1, Article 6 of the Law on Investment (amended) should be fully written as follows: "Banning the production, trading, import, storage, transportation, and use of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, gases, and addictive substances that are harmful to human health".
Providing the reason, the delegate said: "What if people only ban business but still invest in production, to build warehouses, to transport? And addictive gases and substances that are harmful to human health must also be banned, and first of all, N2O must be banned immediately for entertainment purposes".
Regarding Article 152 regulating transition (specifically Clause 5), there is a section writing: "The Government regulates transitional handling of investment projects in the production of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products in Vietnam only for export that has been permitted and approved for investment...".
Delegate Nguyen Anh Tri suggested that it should be regulated immediately in the law. The same allowable period is only about 6 months and a maximum of 12 months before termination.
One issue that the delegate felt very ashamed was that the draft law stated production is only for export. The delegate wondered: "Why do we know that it is toxic and ban it in our own country but still produce it to take to another country? Wherever there are people, wherever there is humanity".
From the above analysis, delegate Nguyen Anh Tri said that the situation of buying, selling and using e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products is developing very seriously. The use of N2O gas for entertainment is booming in Vietnam.
The fight to repel and prevent toxic products hidden under the "utility, fragrance and harm reduction" cover will certainly be very fierce. The delegate hopes that everyone will join hands.
Delegate Pham Trong Nhan (HCMC Delegation) raised lessons from e-cigarettes, a product that is taken lightly, was introduced and then included in the draft law, and said that N2O laughing gas is on the right track with faster speed and more serious consequences.
This product is creating a 5- "no" market: Unlicensed, no quality standards, no docitional inspection, no traceability, no periodic medical reports.
A market operating in a banned zone, without data, without legal points of sale, is beyond the control of the State. If we do not lock down this legal "blind spot" today, we will certainly have to pay the price in the future," the delegate emphasized.
Therefore, he proposed to add a new regulation prohibiting laughing gas, N2O gas used for entertainment purposes and spirit- oriented substances to Article 6 of the draft law.
