April 14 - Authorities in Panama have reportedly rejected a proposal to regulate electronic cigarette products.

In March, the Panamanian Association for Tobacco Harm Reduction, together with citizens who use e-cigarette products, presented a proposal to regulate electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) to amend Law 315 of 30 June 2022, The law prevents more than 170,000 Panamanians who smoke from using ENDS products.

The proposal was rejected by the Technical Secretariat for Economic Affairs, which issued an adverse report.

The government believes Panama should continue to implement the strategy set out in the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control by refusing to use risk-reducing products to help smokers quit, the report said.

The report also justified its decision to reject the proposal on the grounds that they follow legislation in countries such as Mexico and Argentina.

Michael Randall, director of the World Federation of e-Cigarette Users, says the Panamanian government continues to ignore users and science. Reducing tobacco harm should be an integral element in the fight against smoking.

"It has been scientifically proven that vaping is far less harmful than smoking and is the most effective smoking cessation treatment." Randall said in an email. "The tens of thousands of Panamanian e-cigarette users are proof of that. Panama should emulate the success of countries like the UK or Sweden, which are on the verge of becoming the first smoke-free country in the world, in defeating smoking, not the failure of Argentina and Mexico."

The rejected proposal also wanted to guarantee users access to legal markets free of contraband.

According to Tomas Sanchez, president of the Panamanian Association for Tobacco Harm Reduction, the black market is now increasingly prominent, with smuggling estimated at 80% of the trade in burnt cigarettes and 100% of the trade in smokeless equipment.

"Since last year's ban, thousands of users of low-risk products have been forced to start smoking again or buy their products illegally on the black market, where there are no guarantees of quality and safety." Sanchez wrote in an email. "This ban is a failure for public health and the Panamanian government needs to correct its position as soon as possible and give smokers access to alternatives. Their response shows that they do not understand tobacco harm reduction and are not willing to listen to users, who are the main victims of the ban."