Azerbaijani parliament approves bill banning e-cigarettes in first reading

Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis (parliament) has approved in first reading a bill that would ban the import, export, production, storage, wholesale and retail sale, and use of electronic cigarettes and their components.

According to Report, the draft amendments to the law "On Tobacco and Tobacco Products" were discussed at a plenary session of parliament on Thursday.

The document stipulates that electronic cigarettes containing nicotine will be classified as tobacco products.

An electronic cigarette is defined as a product intended to deliver vapor with or without nicotine into the human body through the respiratory tract, designed for use with a device featuring a mouthpiece or other components, including cartridges and refill bottles, or without them. Refill bottles for electronic cigarettes may be used once or multiple times, or refilled using disposable cartridges.

The draft specifies that heated tobacco products will not be considered electronic cigarettes.

It notes that a heated tobacco product is a product consisting of tobacco (a tobacco mixture) and non-tobacco components used in its manufacture, intended to deliver a nicotine-containing aerosol into the human body through the respiratory tract, generated through heating without combustion and without the formation of tobacco smoke.

Clarifying and introducing new definitions is intended to allow for more precise classification and differentiation of tobacco products, including heated tobacco products and electronic cigarettes, in legal practice.

At the same time, as part of regulatory alignment, corresponding amendments are proposed to the Tax Code and the law "On Advertising." These include the removal of "disposable electronic cigarettes" and "liquids for electronic cigarettes" from the list of excisable goods, the cancellation of related tax rates, and the adjustment of advertising bans to reflect the new definitions.

If adopted, the bill will enter into force on Feb. 1, 2026.