CAPHRA Urges Viet Nam to Choose Regulation Over Prohibition of Nicotine Pouches

METRO MANILA, Philippines - EntSun -- The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is formally calling on the Government of Viet Nam to reconsider its proposed prohibition of nicotine pouches, urging a strictly regulated adult-only framework instead. In its submission on 10 August 2026 to the Ministry of Health, CAPHRA argues that prohibition would remove Viet Nam's visibility over product quality and supply while doing little to reduce underlying demand.

CAPHRA points to international precedent already in place. The United States operates a premarket authorization system for nicotine pouches, and on 30 June 2026 the FDA granted modified-risk orders for 20 ZYN products, permitting communication that using those products instead of cigarettes lowers the risk of lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Malaysia's Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 offers a closer regional model, enforced since October 2024.

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Notably, CAPHRA highlights that the World Health Organization's own May 2026 global report on nicotine pouches, while raising legitimate concerns about youth-oriented flavours and social-media marketing, did not recommend prohibition. Instead, WHO identified specific regulatory tools, including age verification, retail controls, advertising restrictions, nicotine caps and taxation, that governments can apply directly to those risks.

"Viet Nam has every right to be cautious about a new product, but caution and prohibition are not the same thing," said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA. "A licensed market gives the Ministry of Health identifiable manufacturers and retailers it can inspect, audit and sanction. A black market gives regulators nothing. We are asking Viet Nam to choose the option that actually strengthens its hand."

Clarisse Virgino, CAPHRA's representative to the Philippines, drew on regional experience to underline the point. "We've seen across Southeast Asia that when governments regulate rather than ban, they gain real oversight, real enforcement power, and real data on who is using these products and why," she said. "Prohibition sounds decisive, but it often just pushes the market out of sight, where nobody is checking ingredients, nicotine strength or who's buying. That's the outcome Viet Nam should want to avoid."

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In the submission, CAPHRA argues that prohibition would strip Viet Nam of oversight over product quality and supply, while doing little to reduce underlying demand.  This submission proposes a phased, evidence-monitored approach: authorize a narrowly defined product category under strict controls, track youth and adult usage patterns, and review outcomes after two to three years, with full authority to tighten rules if the evidence warrants.

"Our position is simple," Loucas added. "Protect children, hold products to rigorous standards, and give adult smokers a regulated path away from cigarettes. That's not a compromise, that's good public health policy, and we believe Viet Nam's Ministry of Health is fully capable of getting this right."