Following Venezuela last month, Suriname has been named as the latest country to adopt measures to ban e-cigarettes in line with the WHO’s FCTC, reports the Jamaica Observer.

Over the past months, eight countries (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela) have taken on the measures that are in line with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to protect the health of their populations from novel tobacco products, reports the Jamaica Observer.
These recent additions mean that 21 countries in the Americas are now regulating electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) including e-cigarettes and vapes while 14 countries in the Americas do not regulate the products at all. While the latest eight countries to join the initiative have all banned the sale of e-cigarettes and vapes completely, the remaining 13 have partially or totally adopted one or more regulatory measures, according to the Jamaica Observer.
“The resolution that regulates new and emerging nicotine and tobacco products in Venezuela is an important step forward for the country and for the region,” said Dr Anselm Hennis, Director of Non-Communicable Diseases Mental Health at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).
“We hope that this measure motivates other countries to take action on these products, which are addictive, harmful and aggressively advertised towards the youngest,” he added.