According to a report by Kazakh media tengrinews on January 24, Kazakhstan’s House of Representatives (Mazhilis) passed a bill in the second reading to comprehensively ban the import, production and sale of e-cigarettes in the country.
It is understood that the bill, titled "Law on Amending and Supplementing Certain Laws in the Field of Health", introduces criminal liability for the circulation of e-cigarettes:
1. The maximum penalty for selling e-cigarettes is detention for up to 50 days;
2. The penalty for importing and distributing e-cigarettes is imprisonment for up to 2 years;
3. For similar acts carried out as part of a criminal gang or on a particularly large scale, or for repeated violations, the maximum penalty is 5 years' imprisonment.
However, the bill does not place restrictions on medical assistance so that medical staff can choose the best treatment based on the individual characteristics of the patient.
