President Laurentino Cortizo has given the go-ahead for the bill that will prohibit the sale and import of all vaping and heated tobacco products, reports Vaping 360.

Panama had already prohibited the sale of e-cigarettes in 2014 but it has taken until now for its President Laurentino Cortizo to approve the 2021 bill. According to Vaping 360, the law does not criminalize the use but bans vaping wherever smoking is not allowed. It also disallows online purchases and gives customs officials the right to inspect, detain and seize shipments.
Consumer vaping advocates at the Asociación por la Reducción de Daños del Tabaquismo de Panamá (ARDT Panamá) have spoken out against the bill saying it will push vapers towards the black market. There are also those that say the decision has a lot to do with Panama hosting next year’s FCTC Conference of the Parties (COP10). According to Vaping 360, the Panamanian president and the country’s public health authorities may well expect significant praise from the FCTC’s anti-vaping leadership at the 2023 conference and even collect awards for its prohibitionist stance.