Taiwan’s Cabinet has approved a draft amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act that would raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 20 and impose a ban on e-cigarettes and flavours, reports Focus Taiwan.

The draft amendment must now be submitted to the legislature for deliberation. According to the proposal, the legal smoking age would be raised to 20.
The manufacture, import, sale, supply, display, advertising and use of all tobacco-like products, including e-cigarettes, would be banned. Tobacco products with flavours such as fruit, flower, chocolate, mint, or other banned additives would also be forbidden.
It also provides a legal basis for the regulation of new and emerging tobacco products, such as heated tobacco products (HTPs). It stipulates that suppliers of new tobacco products with unknown health risks should submit an application for assessments of their products within a certain period of time before they are allowed to manufacture or import these products for sale in Taiwan, the report said.
The proposed amendment also extends the smoking ban to certain premises, including colleges and universities, kindergartens, baby care centers, and in-home child are locations, while listing bars and nightclubs as establishments where smoking is only allowed in designated rooms or areas.
In addition, the current area for graphic and textual warnings on product packages is to be increased from 35 to 85 per cent of the total packaging area.