Brazil health regulator to review vaping issue as senator proposes market regulation

Brazil will hold a public meeting on its vaping ban, in effect since 2009, to discuss whether it should remain in place. Although vaping products are banned in Brazil, they are still widely available on the market, with around 2.2 million adults using them.

Breaking news: According to veja, Brazil’s Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) will hold a public meeting on December 1, 2022, to review the vaping ban that has been in force since 2009. Although vaping products are prohibited in Brazil, they remain widely available in the market. A 2022 Ipec survey indicated that around 2.2 million adults in Brazil regularly use vaping products, making it an entirely illegal market.

In October, Brazilian Senator Soraya Thronicke proposed a bill aimed at regulating the production, import and export, sale, supervision, and advertising of vaping products in Brazil. In defending the proposal, she stressed that vaping products are already being sold in Brazil without any conditions, while consumers face risks because they do not know what products or substances they are inhaling. “What risks are these people facing? Why are we indifferent to this serious issue when consumption has already spread to nearly 6 million adults?” she asked.

Senator Thronicke also cited losses caused by tax evasion. “From an economic perspective, the import and sale of vaping products take place outside the tax system, resulting in substantial tax losses,” she emphasized. According to a study by the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais (FIEMG), the potential market for vaping products could reach BRL 7.5 billion per year. Considering imports alone, average annual federal tax revenue could reach BRL 2.2 billion.

Dr. Joelmir Silva, a full-time professor at Olinda Medical School, emphasized: “Without regulation, we do not know what is being sold. There is no way to control the products, especially the presence of adulterants, which may pose even greater health risks. The lack of standards for product composition and ingredient limits is another problem caused by the absence of regulation.”