Non-profit says vaping, HTP businesses running rampant amid lax government control

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/11/20
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The authorities have been called upon to enforce a crackdown on heated tobacco product (HTP) shops in Taipei, which some fear could have a detrimental effect on younger Taiwanese.

The John Tung Foundation (JTF), a non-profit organization promoting the public’s wellbeing, raised alarms that an American tobacco company has opened a HTP shop in Xinyi District. The move is a blatant challenge to the country’s bid to tighten tobacco controls as an amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act is pending legislative review, it said.

The proposed amendment seeks to expand the scope of smoking bans, raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 20, and prohibit electronic cigarettes (vapes), however HTP products will only be subject to regulation, not entirely banned. This has drawn the ire of anti-smoking groups, which insist all non-traditional tobacco merchandise should be forbidden.    [FULL  STORY]