Chile Comptroller Confirms Vaping Regulations to be Ready by January 5th for Law Implementation

Chile vaping regulations

Senate Health Commission Meets with Comptroller Dorothy Pérez to Discuss Pending Decrees and Regulations

The Senate Health Commission, represented by its president, Senator Javier Macaya (UDI), and Senator Juan Luis Castro (PS), met with Comptroller Dorothy Pérez at the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic to discuss pending requirements, regulations, and decrees, including the decree on high-cost medications and the regulation of electronic cigarettes.

Both senators positively evaluated the meeting, highlighting that they were informed of the date when the vaping regulations will be ready. “It was a good meeting with the Comptroller General of the Republic, Dorothy Pérez. I think the most notable aspect is that we came to request information regarding the speed of certain regulatory procedures,” Senator Macaya stated. He mentioned that the comptroller confirmed that the regulations for the use of electronic vaping systems and e-cigarettes in Chile will be ready before January 5th.

Senator Castro emphasized that this announcement “is good news” as it “establishes the rules under which the indiscriminate use and abuse of these electronic vaping systems will be put to an end, under a regulation and order that the very law we approved, in agreement with the Executive Branch, comes into force.”

He recalled that this law is about to turn one year old and that it precisely states that the regulations from the Ministry of Health must be in force by January 5th.

Among other topics discussed, Senator Castro mentioned the need to expedite the Ricarte Soto Law. “It is not possible that a law that has been paralyzed for more than 4 years, today announcements are made such as new diseases will be included, new pathologies will be incorporated, and yet that still does not sound promising because the same regulation was withdrawn in September,” he accused.

Senator Macaya also mentioned that they will begin pushing legislatively for interoperability. “Often, the services and the oversight of the Comptroller’s Office itself, the public services that are provided by the Chilean State, are not interoperable, a lot of resources are spent, millions of dollars, on something that makes it more difficult (…) so it is a challenge for medical licenses, a challenge for the computer systems of the different public agencies, which we are going to take on as a challenge and a very relevant conclusion of this meeting as well,” he stated.

Matthew Ma
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