Vietnam Drafts Administrative Penalties for E-Cigarette Use, Setting Fines up to USD 380

Key points 

• Vietnam’s Ministry of Justice has released a draft decree specifying administrative penalties for the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, implementing National Assembly Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15.
• Individual users of e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products would face fines of VND 3–5 million (approximately USD 114–190), along with confiscation and destruction of the products.
• Property owners or managers who allow e-cigarette use on their premises would be subject to higher fines of VND 5–10 million (approximately USD 190–380).
• Minors aged 16 to under 18 using tobacco products would be fined VND 200,000–500,000 (around USD 7.6–19), replacing previous warning-based enforcement.
• Businesses that manufacture or distribute tobacco products with non-compliant health warning labels could be fined up to VND 30 million (about USD 1,140).

2Firsts, December 25, 2025 – According to Hoa hoc tro,the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice has released an assessment document on administrative penalties in the health sector; for the first time, the draft clarifies the administrative fine standards for e-cigarette use. Individuals who use e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products could be fined up to 5 million Vietnamese Dong (approximately $190); allowing or encouraging others to use e-cigarettes could result in a maximum fine of 10 million Vietnamese Dong (about $380). Minors aged 16 to 18 who use tobacco will face new fine ranges.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Justice has released an appraisal dossier for a draft decree on administrative penalties in the healthcare sector, formally detailing fines for the use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products for the first time.

The draft decree serves as an implementing regulation for National Assembly Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15, which mandates a comprehensive ban from 2025 on the production, trade, import, storage, transport, and use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in Vietnam. Until now, however, legal texts had not specified concrete administrative penalties for individual users.

Under Article 27 of the draft decree, individuals found using e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products would be subject to administrative fines ranging from VND 3 million to VND 5 million, equivalent to approximately USD 114 to USD 190.

In addition to monetary penalties, enforcement authorities may confiscate and mandate the destruction of the seized vaping products.

The draft clearly distinguishes between personal use and responsibility of premises managers.

Individuals or entities that permit or tolerate the use of e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products within premises they own or manage—such as shops, rental properties, or other controlled spaces—would face fines of VND 5 million to VND 10 million, or approximately USD 190 to USD 380.

This provision applies to:

• Business operators,
• Property owners, and
• Persons exercising effective control or management over a location.

As a result, earlier references to a “maximum fine of VND 10 million” pertain specifically to premises management violations, not to individual users themselves.

The draft decree also revises penalties for other tobacco-related violations:

• Smoking in legally designated non-smoking areas would be punishable by fines of VND 200,000 to VND 500,000 (approximately USD 7.6 to USD 19).
• Minors aged 16 to under 18 who use tobacco products would face fines of VND 200,000 to VND 500,000 (USD 7.6–19), replacing the previous framework that relied primarily on warnings.

For producers and distributors, the draft decree introduces significantly higher penalties.

Organizations that manufacture, import, or circulate tobacco products with non-compliant health warnings—including violations related to warning size, placement, color, or content—may be fined VND 20 million to VND 30 million, equivalent to approximately USD 760 to USD 1,140.

The draft decree remains under review, and the final penalty structure will be confirmed upon formal promulgation.

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