Lawmakers set to codify e-cigarette ban, time-of-use power pricing
Vietnam's National Assembly endorsed plans to codify an e-cigarette ban into law and introduce time-of-use electricity pricing for households.Summary
The National Assembly Standing Committee endorsed a bill to write a ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco into law, expanding legal definitions, streamlining licensing requirements, and shifting certain approval powers from the Prime Minister to the Minister of Industry and Trade. Lawmakers including NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Thanh cautioned that deregulation could weaken state oversight of tobacco control and urged detailed implementing regulations. The committee also reviewed amendments to the Electricity Law that would introduce peak, off-peak, and normal-hour retail electricity rates for households where technically feasible, phase out cross-subsidies between customer groups per Politburo Resolution 70, and establish price support and investment incentives for renewable and new energy sources. NA Vice Chairman Nguyễn Hồng Diên urged drafters to limit amendments to what is truly necessary and ensure full codification of Party policy on national energy security.
(Source：vietnamnews.vn)
