Public Consultation Results: Most Brazilians Oppose Ban on E-Cigarettes

According to Brazilian media outlet Gaz, a recent public consultation by Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) regarding e-cigarettes has concluded with the majority expressing opposition to a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes in Brazil. The survey results revealed that out of the 13,930 participants, 58% believed that banning the manufacturing and sale of e-cigarettes would have a negative impact, while 37% believed the measure to be positive.

The public consultation began in December last year and ended in February this year. During the consultation process, the public could provide feedback on existing laws. Of all the participants, 11,250 were citizens or consumers, while the rest were businesses, organizations, and public institutions. Several dozen countries were also consulted on the operation of laws related to e-cigarettes and their derivatives.

Lauro Anhezini Júnior, head of scientific and regulatory affairs at British American Tobacco Brasil (BAT Brasil), stated that the investigation results show that most people do not believe that banning e-cigarettes is the best approach. He said, "This regulation needs to be reconsidered. While the world is strengthening regulations, Brazil is going against the global trend."

Anghezini elaborated on the current regulations' impact on the tobacco industry. He stated that approximately 34,000 job positions could not be filled, and production chain revenue is estimated to lose 7.5 billion Reais. Additionally, nearly 2.2 billion in taxes cannot be collected each year, not including state taxes.

The Vice President of the Brazilian Tobacco Farmers Association (Afubra), Romeu Schneider, believes that allowing the sale of e-cigarettes in the Brazilian market could lead to the establishment of factories producing e-cigarettes and tobacco ingredients. "Clearly, in addition to equipment, we would also need employees to do this work. This could create a significant number of jobs and tax revenue.

According to data from the intelligence research and consulting agency (Ipec), e-cigarette consumption in Brazil has increased by 600% over the past six years. Anhézini stated that these data results indicate that the existing 15-year ban clearly does not align with reality. "The number of adults using e-cigarettes has increased from 500,000 to nearly 3 million. This means that people are consuming in illegal environments, without knowing what ingredients are included or where the products come from.