Baku: Azerbaijan has enacted a sweeping prohibition on the import, export, production, storage, wholesale and retail sale, and use of electronic cigarettes and their components. This development was reported by APA, following a proposed amendment to the Law 'On Tobacco and Tobacco Products' discussed at today's Milli Majlis session. The amendment includes the classification of nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes as tobacco products.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, electronic cigarettes are defined as devices intended for use with or without a mouthpiece, delivering vapor with or without nicotine into the human body through inhalation. These definitions specifically exclude food products, tobacco products, medicines, and medical devices. The new law distinguishes between electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, the latter being defined as products delivering nicotine-containing aerosol through a heating process without ignition or tobacco smoke formation.

The amendment also introduces changes to the Tax Code and advertising laws, removing 'single-use electronic cigarettes' and 'liquids for electronic cigarettes' from the list of excisable goods, thus eliminating corresponding tax rates. Advertising prohibitions are being aligned with the new definitions. The draft law was successfully voted on and adopted in its third reading.

Once passed, this law is set to take effect on April 1, 2026.