TAIWAN
A petition to legalize heat-not-burn tobacco products and subject them to the same health and welfare surcharges as other tobacco products has exceeded expectations, garnering more than 5,000 signatures.
A petition with more than 5,000 signatures requires the government agency in charge to issue a public response on the platform within two months. In this case, on July 17.
The petition had been proposed on the National Development Council’s online policy platform on April 27 and approved two days later, entering the 60-day signature collecting period.
The petition said that while many people bring heated tobacco products into Taiwan, there is no law regarding the situation, so the products should be subject to the health and welfare surcharge on tobacco products to improve regulation.
Some comments on the petition said, “Many major countries have legalized them, so when will Taiwan catch up?” and: “They are tobacco products like cigarettes, so there is no reason to ban them.”