Paraguay Passes Law Banning Vape Sales and Use by Minors

Paraguay Vape Ban E-cigarette Law Minors

The Paraguayan Chamber of Senators has passed a comprehensive bill that prohibits the sale, supply, and use of vaping products by minors, while also establishing significant restrictions on their commercialization, public use, and advertising. The legislation, which now moves to the Executive Branch for promulgation or veto, covers Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (SEAN), Similar Systems Without Nicotina (SSSN), and other new and emerging devices.

The law explicitly forbids the sale, delivery, or supply of vapes to anyone under the age of 18 and prohibits minors from accessing places where these devices are exclusively produced or sold. Furthermore, the sale of vaping products is banned in numerous locations, including:

  • Hospitals and healthcare centers.
  • Public entity dependencies.
  • Educational institutions of all types (public, private, and subsidized).
  • Sports facilities and general enclosed spaces, even with ventilation.
  • Public and private transport such as buses, taxis, ambulances, and national flights/boats.
  • Workplaces where two or more people interact.

A key provision is a total ban on the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of these products across all media, including radio, television, print, internet, social media, streaming services, and outdoor billboards. The law also imposes a Selective Consumption Tax (ISC) of 22% to 24%, equating the tax burden on vapes with that of traditional tobacco products. Forty percent of the revenue collected from fines will be allocated to prevention campaigns about the risks of nicotine consumption.

During the session, Senator Luis Pettengill defended the decision to allow vapes to be sold in the same licensed outlets as traditional cigarettes, arguing that restricting sales further would “generate a black market.” He also noted that some vapes contain 2% nicotine, a lower amount than traditional cigarettes which also contain tar.

Conversely, Senator Esperanza Martínez argued that these modern devices are potentially more dangerous because they give a false appearance of being less harmful and addictive. “They have all the characteristics that affect health with the aggravating factor that they are aimed at children and adolescents because they come with fruit flavors that… enchant this age group,” she stated.

Matthew Ma
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