Japan’s Stance on Heated Tobacco Products Remains Unclear
According to The Mainichi, Japan’s national government and the Tokyo metropolitan government disagree on how heated tobacco products, public smoking, and vaping should be regulated ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Under Japan’s Tobacc
According to the Daily News, there is a dispute between the Japanese national government and the Tokyo metropolitan government regarding regulations on heated tobacco products, public smoking, and vaping devices before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
According to the Tobacco Business Law, heated tobacco products are classified in the same category as combustible cigarettes; thus, they are included in the original draft amendment of the Health Promotion Law released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) in March.
The Ministry of Health stated that if scientific evidence proves that vaping devices are harmless, they will consider excluding heated tobacco products from regulatory scope, which would be good news for electronic cigarette specialty stores.
In light of this, it is likely that the revised draft of the Health Promotion Law submitted to the National Assembly next year will treat heated tobacco products similarly to combustible cigarettes.
Meanwhile, Tokyo is formulating its own regulations on tobacco-related products, and the draft regulations released in September clearly state that heated tobacco products will be regulated.
However, a total of 17,000 public opinions were received regarding the regulations, with about 2,000 requesting to exclude heated tobacco products from regulation. A Tokyo government official later expressed a more moderate stance, stating, "We have not yet decided whether to exclude restrictions on this product."
Philip Morris International Japan claims that its iQOS device reduces approximately 90% of toxic substances compared to combustible cigarettes.
Japan Tobacco Inc. states that the vapor from heated tobacco devices does not affect indoor environments, and therefore should not be compared to the hazards of combustible cigarettes.
