Baku: Azerbaijan has instituted a comprehensive ban on the import, production, sale, and use of electronic cigarettes and their components. This decision, which was reported by APA, comes as part of a proposed amendment to the Law ‘On Tobacco and Tobacco Products,’ which was discussed during a session of the Milli Majlis.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the draft amendment classifies nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes as tobacco products. These devices, intended for the inhalation of vapor into the human body, are now officially recognized within the legal framework, excluding them from categories such as food products, medicinal products, and medical devices. Notably, heated tobacco products, which involve the inhalation of a nicotine-containing aerosol without the formation of tobacco smoke, are not categorized as electronic cigarettes.
The amendment aims to refine legal classifications, ensuring clear differentiation between tobacco products, heated tobacco products, and electronic cigarettes. This new classification prohibits the circulation of nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes in Azerbaijan.
Furthermore, changes are being made to the Tax Code and the Law ‘On Advertising’ to align with the new definitions. This includes removing ‘single-use electronic cigarettes’ and ‘liquids for electronic cigarettes’ from the list of excisable goods, thereby abolishing associated tax rates and synchronizing advertising bans with the updated definitions.
The draft law was successfully passed in its first reading and, if fully enacted, is set to take effect on February 1, 2026.