Oman
Oman’s Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) has recently banned all e-cigarette and e-shisha products. Anyone found selling the cigarettes will be slapped with a OMR 500 (US$1,300) fine. The fine will be doubled for repeat offenses. The PACP says it will intensify inspections across the country to ensure the safety of the public. Traders should remove all stock of e-cigarettes and e-hookah from shops in Oman. The move is not altogether surprising as other Gulf states have already banned the sale of e-cigarettes.
“This ban came into effect as there is no scientific proof that e-cigarettes help cure addiction or are a better alternative to real traditional cigarettes,” said Dr Jawad Ahmed Al Lawati, director of the department of non-communicable diseases control at the Ministry of Health.
The electronic cigarette is one of the many products that smokers try to kick their tobacco addiction and e-cigarette users are now doing whatever they can to lay their hands on the devices.
“I haven’t had a real cigarette in three weeks and I feel a lot better. I have more energy and it is easier to breathe. I have also regained my sense of smell and taste and have no desire to smoke a real cigarette. But I just wish e-cigarettes were readily available in the Sultanate,” one such user of e-cigarettes said.