The Legislative Assembly has approved the first draft of a bill that would see the manufacture, sale and distribution as well as import and export of e-cigarettes banned, reports the Macau News Agency.

The amendment to the tobacco prevention and control law would mean that anyone found to be breaking the law would be penalised with fines of MOP 4,000 (USD 494) for infractions and between MOP 20,000 (USD 2,474) and MOP 200,000 (USD 24,744) for entities.
According to the Macau News Agency, the deputies of the Legislative Assembly wanted the government to go a step further and ban the consumption of e-cigarettes completely. On the other hand, critics expressed concern saying the new legislation could lead to an increase in the illicit market and boost the smuggling of e-cigarettes.
The government said changing the law was important since the consumption of e-cigarettes among youths had increased and there was strong evidence to suggest e-cigarettes were harmful to health and safety.