e-cigarette markets and policy responses in southeast asia: a scoping review

Background: the global e-cigarette market has proliferated and is increasingly dominated by transnational tobacco companies. while southeast asian countries have received relatively little attention in e-cigarette research, the region represents an area of potentially untapped growth for the industry. we review the e-cigarette situation in southeast asia in terms of the e-cigarette markets, advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes, reported health impacts of e-cigarette use, and policy responses in the region. methods: we examined e-cigarette market data from the euromonitor global market information database (gmid) passport database, searched in the academic literature, grey literature and news archives for any reports or studies of e-cigarette related diseases or injuries, e-cigarette marketing, and e-cigarette policy responses in southeast asian countries, and browsed the websites of online e-cigarette retailers catering to the region’s active e-cigarette markets. results: in 2019, e-cigarettes were sold in six southeast asian markets with a total market value of $595 million, projected to grow to $766 million by 2023. e-commerce is a significant and growing sales channel in the region, with most of the popular or featured brands in online shops originating from china. southeast asian youth are targeted with a wide variety of flavours, trendy designs and point of sale promotions, and several e-cigarette related injuries and diseases have been reported in the region. policy responses vary considerably between countries, ranging from strict bans to no or partial regulations. conclusion: although southeast asia’s e-cigarette market is relatively nascent, this is likely to change if transnationals invest more heavily in the region. populous countries with weak e-cigarette regulations, notably indonesia, malaysia, vietnam and the philippines, are desirable targets for the transnationals. regulatory action is needed to prevent e-cigarette use from becoming entrenched into these societies, especially among young people.