Vietnam travel tips 2026: the vape ban, the fines and what to do before you fly

## Vietnam travel tips 2026: what the vape ban covers

Vietnam's National Assembly passed the resolution banning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco on November 30, 2024, and it took effect on January 1, 2025. It remains in force for 2026 travel, with no carve-out for foreign visitors. If your device is in a carry-on, a checked bag, or your pocket, it falls inside the ban.

The resolution prohibits production, sale, import, storage, transportation, and use. Storage and transportation are the two entries that catch travellers: you do not need to buy, sell, or puff on a device for it to be a problem. Simply carrying one into Vietnam is covered, whether you are arriving with it or picking one up locally.

Heated tobacco sits under the same rule as e-cigarettes. That takes in IQOS and glo devices, the heatsticks they use, and e-liquids for refillable and disposable vapes. Duty-free purchases are not an exemption from the ban, so buying at an airport before landing does not change your position. Reports put traveller penalties at VND 1 million to 5 million (about US$40 to US$200), with confiscation, warnings, or fines depending on the airport and province. Commercial-scale violations carry a ceiling of VND 100 million (about US$4,000) under Decree 98/2020/ND-CP.

Customs officers and police can confiscate devices and liquids, and the ban applies to Vietnamese residents and foreign visitors alike. Penalty schedules for tourists are not consistently published, enforcement varies by airport and province, and there is no clear medical exemption for vape users. Leave the device and the liquids at home. If you need nicotine, approved nicotine replacement therapy such as patches or gum is not covered by the ban, and airline rules on carrying it vary.

## Vietnam travel tips: what changed on January 1, 2025

Before 2025, Vietnam had no single national rule on vaping. E-cigarettes and heated tobacco sold openly across the country under a patchwork of provincial restrictions, and enforcement was uneven. Travellers could land, buy a device or a bottle of e-liquid the same day, and use it in most public places with little risk of confiscation.

Vietnam's National Assembly passed the resolution on November 30, 2024, and the ban took effect on January 1, 2025. It covers production, sale, import, storage, transportation and use. The prohibited products are e-cigarettes, e-liquids, heatsticks and heated tobacco devices including IQOS and glo. Customs officers and police can confiscate devices and liquids, and airport checks have increased since the ban came in.

### Vietnam travel tips 2026: duty-free is not a loophole

Buying a device or a liquid at an airport shop does not make it legal to carry into the country. Duty-free purchases are not an exemption from the ban. Nothing in the resolution grandfathers devices bought before the effective date either, so an older vape in your bag is still prohibited goods, no matter when or where you bought it. Travellers arriving with vapes in carry-on or checked bags, buying products locally, or using them in public all fall under the rule.

Penalties scale with the offence. Commercial-scale violations can reach VND 100 million (about US$4,000) under Decree 98/2020/ND-CP. For individual travellers, penalty schedules are not consistently published; reports describe confiscation, warnings or fines in the range of VND 1 million to 5 million (about US$40 to US$200). Enforcement varies by airport and province, and there is no clear medical exemption for vape users. If you need nicotine, approved replacement therapy patches and gum are the practical option. Check your airline and Vietnam customs before you travel.

Three visitor behaviours carry legal risk in Vietnam: arriving with a vape, buying one locally, and using one in public. The ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco took effect on January 1, 2025, and it is still in force for 2026 travel. For first-timers booking flights, this rule matters before packing.

Arriving with a device is the most common mistake. The prohibition covers import, storage, transportation and use, so a vape in a carry-on bag and a vape in a checked bag are treated the same way. Moving the device between bags at the airport changes nothing about its legal status, and customs officers can confiscate devices and e-liquids at the border. The rules apply to heated tobacco too: IQOS and glo devices and their heatsticks fall under the same ban. Buying vape products inside Vietnam is a violation a visitor can be penalised for, whether the seller runs a shop or a stall on the street.

The ban covers use in both private and public places. A hotel room, a bar, or a balcony is covered because the resolution does not limit the use prohibition to sidewalks and parks. There is no clear medical exemption for vape users, so a prescription does not guarantee you can bring a device into the country. Airline cabin rules are separate from Vietnamese law, and an airline allowing a device on board does not make it legal on arrival.

Penalty schedules for tourists are not consistently published, and enforcement can vary by airport and province. Travellers report confiscation, warnings or fines in the VND 1 million to 5 million (about US$40 to US$200) range, while commercial-scale violations can reach VND 100 million (about US$4,000) under Decree 98/2020/ND-CP. Duty-free purchases do not exempt you from the ban. If you need nicotine, use approved replacement therapy such as patches or gum, and check your airline's rules before you fly.

Vietnam publishes one penalty figure for this ban in detail, and it is the commercial one. Decree 98/2020/ND-CP sets a ceiling of VND 100 million (about US$4,000) for commercial-scale violations such as producing, selling, or importing e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. That covers traders and businesses, not a visitor with a device in a carry-on bag.

Penalties for individual travellers are less clearly published. Reports summarized in the 2026 research brief describe confiscation, a warning, or a fine of VND 1 million to 5 million (about US$40 to US$200), depending on where and how the case is handled. Vietnam has not released a consistent penalty schedule for tourists, so no traveller can predict which of those three outcomes they will get.

Enforcement varies by airport and province, which means two travellers carrying the same device can get different results. One customs officer may confiscate and wave the traveller through, another may issue a fine on the spot. Duty-free purchases are not an exemption from the ban, and checks at airports have increased since the resolution took effect on January 1, 2025.

Confiscation is the most consistently reported outcome, and there is no published appeal route for visitors who lose a device or want to contest a fine. The arithmetic is worth running before you fly: a device that cost a few hundred thousand dong risks a fine of VND 1 million to 5 million or simply disappearing at the airport. Leave vapes, e-liquids, and heatsticks at home. If you need nicotine, pack approved NRT patches or gum and check airline rules. One line worth adding to any Vietnam travel tips 2026 checklist: nothing that produces vapour goes in the bag.

Vietnam's ban on e-cigarettes, e-liquids, heatsticks, and heated tobacco devices including IQOS and glo took effect on January 1, 2025, and it remains in force for 2026 travel. The night before departure, run through a short sequence: leave every device and liquid at home, plan a nicotine replacement, check your airline and Vietnam customs, and skip the duty-free shop. Deciding at the airport is too late.

Do not pack a vape, an e-liquid bottle, or a heatstick in carry-on or checked luggage. The prohibition covers production, sale, import, storage, transportation, and use, so customs officers can confiscate a sealed device in a bag. Buying a vape after you land carries the same legal risk as bringing one in, so local purchase is not a workaround. Duty-free purchases do not exempt you from the ban. Penalties for individual travelers are less clearly published, with reports of confiscation, warnings, or fines in the VND 1 million to 5 million (about US$40 to US$200) range.

Sort out nicotine before you fly. Approved nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches or gum, is the practical option. There is no clear medical exemption for vape users, so a doctor's note is not a reliable plan. Check your airline's rules on carrying nicotine replacement therapy in cabin or checked baggage, because airline policy and Vietnamese law are two separate sets of rules.

For your 2026 Vietnam travel tips checklist, confirm both your airline's cabin rules and Vietnam customs requirements before departure. Enforcement at airports has increased, and rules may vary by airport and province. If you need nicotine, carry approved nicotine replacement therapy such as patches or gum.

## Vietnam travel tips on enforcement: what is still unclear

The most useful thing to know about enforcement is what Vietnam has not published. The resolution passed by the National Assembly on November 30, 2024, and effective January 1, 2025, bans e-cigarettes, e-liquids, heatsticks, and heated tobacco devices including IQOS and glo. It covers production, sale, import, storage, transportation, and use. Nothing in that text, or in the WHO Vietnam and Reuters coverage of it, creates a medical exemption for nicotine users, and no published procedure lets a visitor declare a device on arrival. Travelers who vape and depend on it for nicotine have no documented route to carry one legally. Nicotine replacement therapy patches and gum are the legal alternative; check your airline's rules before packing them.

Penalties for individual travelers are the second gap. The commercial ceiling, VND 100 million (about US$4,000) under Decree 98/2020/ND-CP, is published. The VND 1 million to 5 million (about US$40 to US$200) range that circulates for travelers comes from reported cases, not from a public penalty table, and Vietnam has not published a separate schedule for foreign visitors. Confiscation, a warning, or a fine are all described outcomes, so the cost of getting it wrong is not predictable in advance.

Enforcement may vary by airport and province, and it has increased at airports since the ban took effect. Customs and police can confiscate devices and liquids, and duty-free purchases are not an exemption from the ban. Provincial police operate separately from airport customs, and the two do not publish a joint penalty list. Two arrivals on the same day at different airports can get different treatment.

For Vietnam travel tips 2026, leave devices and liquids at home rather than deciding at the airport. Confirm the current position with your airline and Vietnam customs before you fly, because published guidance and reported practice do not fully match.