Want create site? Find Free WordPress Themes and plugins.

Electronic cigarettes have taken off in countries all over the world. As most manufacturing of e-cigs has happened in Asia, it’s no surprise that they took hold in places like China, Taiwan, and Japan before many other regions of the world. Taiwan’s own Food and Drug Administration announced this past week that electronic cigarettes (and really, any hi-tech smoking replacement) constitutes a banned drug within the country.

Although this does not outlaw the ownership and use of electronic cigarettes by individuals in the country, it does impose restrictions on the import, sale, and manufacturing of the devices in the country. Though presumably no businesses have been fined for such activity just yet, it seems likely the FDA there will come down on offenders soon.

Under the current rules, manufacturers and importers can be fined up to $10 Million (New Taiwan currency, about $330,000 US) and receive a prison sentence of 10 years. Vendors may suffer less, but still substantial fines and prison terms. Basically, electronic cigarette sellers are viewed as illegal drug dealers.

You can read more about the situation here.

It also seems apparent that there is an effort to smear the image of e-cigs publicly. An inspection chief at the FDA told reporters that e-cigarettes are regulated as conventional cigarettes in the United States and France (not exactly true for either country). In particular, the Taiwan FDA is referring to electronic cigarettes as an unregistered prohibited drug.

Despite this barricade on the business side of e-cigs, their use in public is still unregulated. E-cigs in Taiwan are not considered cigarettes — thus smoking bans don’t apply to them. They also aren’t considered an illegal substance (rather, just a controlled one).

This has created a weird limbo for electronic cigarettes in Taiwan. They can’t be imported to, manufactured within, or sold in the country, but they can be used freely in public by anyone.