On the afternoon of November 11, the National Assembly held a group meeting on the draft Law on Investment (amended). Speaking, many delegates said that it is necessary to add regulations prohibiting investment and trading in e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in this draft Law.
Is there a lobby to legalize the business of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products?
Delegate Truong Trong Nghia (HCMC Delegation) expressed his opinion that e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are harmful and the media has also spoken out. Along with that, the National Assembly has issued a Resolution on banning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
Therefore, he believes that the draft Law on Investment (amended) must prohibit business and cannot be " left open".
The delegate said that he personally heard the opinion that business can be allowed but only for export. However, the delegate found the issue raised like this inappropriate.
"If we have determined that this product is harmful to health and society, why allow production for export? Are we going to export our "hammer" to another country? Whether or not another country bans it is their business, but it is harmful to us and cannot be legalized just for the reason of "for export" - delegate Truong Trong Nghia raised the issue.
Another issue raised by the delegate is, if domestic business is allowed, is it certain that the product will not make it to the domestic market? This risk is completely real. Therefore, banning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products is not because we cannot manage them, but because they are dangerous products, especially for young people and society in general.
From the above analysis, the delegate suggested reviewing whether or not there are any lobby activities to legalize the business of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
The delegate added that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Industry and Trade both agreed on the ban, in which the Ministry of Industry and Trade affirmed that if the Ministry of Health proposed to ban, the Ministry would also agree. The National Assembly has also issued a resolution clearly stating the ban policy. So why hasn't that provision been included in this draft Law?
Prohibited occupations must be included in the Law
Sharing the same view, delegate Le Van Kham - Delegation (Ho Chi Minh City) said that the National Assembly has issued Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15, agreeing on the policy of completely banning the production, trading, import, storage, transportation and use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
The delegate said that if this ban is not included in the draft Law on Investment (amended), when implemented, businesses will "look" at the Law, but the Law does not have a ban.
Therefore, the delegate suggested that the drafting agency clarify this conflict, and at the same time study and supplement specific provisions in the draft law to ensure proper implementation of the spirit of Resolution 173, avoiding legal overlap.
In addition, delegate Le Van Kham emphasized that in the Government's explanation, there are opinions from the ASEAN - US Business Council, saying that there are many types of heated tobacco: Some are completely made up of tobacco (containing nicotine), some are free of nicotine or use other substances. They argue that if heated tobacco is produced entirely from tobacco materials, it should be managed like traditional cigarettes.
However, Mr. Le Van Kham affirmed that when the National Assembly had a policy to ban heated tobacco products, it stemmed from the consistent viewpoint of not encouraging the use of tobacco in general, especially among young people. Heated tobacco products are a new product, and this is the time when we can control them from the beginning. Therefore, not clearly and specifically regulated in this Law can lead to failure to achieve the goal of controlling tobacco use, while causing conflicts in the legal system.
Sharing the same view, delegate Le Hoang Anh (Gia Lai delegation) proposed to add to Article 6 - Regulations on Sectors and professions prohibiting investment in business for investment in the business of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
The delegate analyzed that the current Draft Law only includes traditional cigarettes in the list of conditional businesses, but leaves them open, without absolutely prohibiting investment in e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, which is a step back in policy, with potential disaster, beyond the normal healthcare framework, becoming a matter of security and social order...
