Azerbaijan is considering banning electronic cigarettes containing nicotine

Amendments are proposed to the Tax Code as well as to the laws "On tobacco and tobacco products", "On advertising" and "On restrictions relating to the use of tobacco products".«[1], The aim is to completely ban electronic cigarettes containing nicotine, whether disposable or not. The revised legislation also plans to legally distinguish between electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, the latter remaining legal. According to the AZERTAC news agency, these proposals were placed jointly on the agenda of the parliamentary committees (Milli Majlis) responsible for agricultural policy, economic policy, industry and entrepreneurship, as well as those responsible for labor and social policy, on December 16, 2025.

A proposal to ban nicotine-containing e-cigarettes to protect public health

The bill aims to prohibit the import, export, production, storage, wholesale and retail sale, as well as the use of electronic cigarettes containing nicotine and their components.

Furthermore, harmonization amendments are being made to the Tax Code and the Advertising Act, notably the removal of electronic cigarettes and their e-liquids from the list of excise goods, the elimination of the corresponding tax rates, and the adaptation of advertising bans to the new legal definitions. In addition, advertising for nicotine-free electronic cigarettes will also be prohibited under the proposed amendments to the Advertising Act.

MP Soltan Mammadov, a member of the Parliament's Health Committee, explained that risky behaviors remain a major problem related to non-communicable diseases, and that the health consequences of traditional smoking are well known to the public.[2].

The evolution of scientific knowledge about vaping is leading authorities, who classify it as a tobacco product, to want to extend this fight against non-communicable diseases to electronic cigarettes:« According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), even in some developed countries, the use of electronic cigarettes is widespread, particularly among minors. »,« Mammadov said.« Implementing restrictions on tobacco products, including e-cigarettes containing carcinogenic substances or harmful chemicals, even those with low or no nicotine content, is a step towards protecting public health and preventing the progression of certain diseases. »" the MP emphasized.

He added that consumption among minors is about ten times higher than among adults, suggesting that a good number of young people are using e-cigarettes even though they were not smokers or users of other tobacco products.

He also argued that, for a legislative framework to be effective, punitive measures against offences are imperative, and that the amount of the sanctions as well as the terms of application will be defined by regulation after the promulgation of the law.

The government says the proposed legislation is based on international experience, with 46 countries having completely banned the sale and distribution of electronic cigarettes.[3], 82 countries regulate their sale and distribution, and 43 countries regulate the concentration, volume, or quality of nicotine or other ingredients present in e-liquids. In the Caucasus and Central Asia region alone, a growing number of countries, such as Tajikistan recently, and Uzbekistan, have banned vaping products.

The Azerbaijani government has previously attempted to restrict their sale, notably by increasing excise taxes on e-cigarettes. Nevertheless, e-cigarettes remain widely available in Azerbaijani stores, with media reports noting that imports increased fivefold in 2024 compared to the previous year, primarily from Malaysia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Heated tobacco remains legal, in a context of very high male smoking rates.

Clarifying definitions and introducing new concepts aims to enable more precise classification and differentiation of the various tobacco products, including heated tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

In this context, tobacco laws clarify the definition of "tobacco product" by including electronic cigarettes containing nicotine (France and more broadly Western Europe define the electronic cigarette not as a tobacco product but as a vaping product), and also introduce the distinct notions of "heated tobacco product" and "electronic cigarette".

Heated tobacco is thus described as "« a product composed of tobacco (a tobacco mixture) and non-tobacco components used in its production, intended for the inhalation of an aerosol containing nicotine generated during the heating process — without ignition and without the formation of tobacco smoke — into the human body via the respiratory tract ".

According to the draft bill, all "electronic cigarettes containing nicotine" would be subject to legislation, while "heated tobacco products," such as those produced by Philip Morris and its IQOS brand, would remain legal.[4].

This bill raises questions about the sole priority given to e-cigarettes over heated tobacco, and more broadly to all tobacco products, especially given the particularly high prevalence of smoking in the country. Indeed, according to the Tobacco Atlas, 39.6% of Azerbaijani men aged 15 and over and 5% of Azerbaijani men aged 10-14 smoked in 2022. This high prevalence is responsible for 18.8% of annual premature and preventable male deaths.

This difference in policy depending on the products concerned likely stems from increased interference by the tobacco industry in public policy. Azerbaijan is among the Caucasus and Central Asian states where regulatory frameworks are weak and prevention programs less developed than in countries that have implemented strict anti-smoking measures, such as Turkmenistan. Tobacco manufacturers are setting up tobacco production plants there and interfere in economic and social development, with the complicity of local authorities. In doing so, they prevent these countries from progressing and may even weaken international progress in health by opposing measures debated in global forums such as the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

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[1]2firsts, Azerbaijan Considers Comprehensive Ban on E-cigarettes, Published on December 17, 2025, accessed the same day

[2]Alish Abdulla, New legal framework set to govern e-cigarette penalties - Azerbaijani MP, Trend, published on December 16, 2025, accessed on December 17, 2025

[3]Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control, E-CIGARETTE BAN & REGULATION: Global Status as of May 2025, Published on June 4, 2025, accessed on December 16, 2025

[4]Nate Ostiller, Azerbaijan offers ban on vapes, OC Media, published December 16, 2025, accessed December 17, 2025

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