Top Takeaways:

• Taiwan’s HPA has conditionally approved 14 heated tobacco products under the revised Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, marking the first regulatory clearance since the 2023 amendment.
• Approvals are conditional and subject to strict controls, including packaging review, monitoring, and mandatory reporting to health authorities; Director-General Wu Chao-chun stressed they are “not a free pass.”
• Imports by individuals remain banned, with Customs enforcing seizure rules; travelers must await further government decisions on personal import regulation.

Taiwan’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) on July 29 announced conditional approval for 14 heated tobacco products from two companies, marking a landmark development under the amended Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, which took effect in March 2023.

The two companies, which were not named, were among seven that have applied for inspections, the HPA said.

The 2023 amendment instituted a full ban on e-cigarettes and established mandatory health risk assessments for new tobacco products—including heated tobacco—before they can be manufactured, imported, or sold.

HPA Director-General Chao-Chun Wu cautioned that conditional approval is “not a free pass,” emphasizing that companies must submit regular monitoring and usage reports—or risk revocation of permission.

Lo Shu-ying, head of the HPA’s Tobacco Control Division, explained the rigorous review process, saying the committee evaluated each product’s toxicology, clinical pharmacology, addiction potential, and public health impact. Similar to traditional tobacco goods, packaging and labeling must meet standards before products may enter the market.

Lo highlighted seven compliance conditions: independent third‑party monitoring; annual submission of consumption and addiction data to the Ministry of Health and Welfare; maintenance of adverse-event reporting systems; transparent disclosure of new addictiveness findings; resubmission of any product changes; strict enforcement of age-verification and advertising rules; and prohibition of marketing claims such as “safer than cigarettes.”

Taiwan Customs reaffirmed that personal imports of heated tobacco products remain banned. Travelers cannot legally bring the products into the country, though seized packs dated before March 22, 2023 may be reclaimed within three months upon approval.

All other items are subject to seizure.

Seizures have been substantial: Customs has confiscated over 4 million packs of heated tobacco sticks since the law’s amendment. Authorities are still deliberating whether to modify personal import rules, with no timeline yet set.

Wu is set to step down at the end of July. Amid criticism from anti-smoking groups over the timing of the approvals, Wu defended the integrity of the process, asserting it spanned more than two years and faltered on “speculative accusations.”