After years of regulatory uncertainty, Chile has finally enacted Law No. 21.642, establishing clear rules for Nicotine Delivery Electronic Systems (SEAN) and Non-Nicotine Electronic Systems (SESN). This landmark legislation represents a significant step forward for nicotine innovation in Latin America. It offers valuable lessons for neighboring countries — notably Argentina, which clings to prohibitionist policies at odds with global trends and scientific evidence.
Chile’s Balanced Approach: Smart Regulation, Not Prohibition
The Chilean law strikes a reasonable balance between legitimate public health concerns and the rights of adult consumers to access potentially life-saving alternatives to cigarettes. Unlike the heavy-handed prohibitionist approach seen in Argentina and Venezuela, Chile has opted for smart regulation that recognizes the fundamental difference between combustible tobacco and innovative alternatives.
Among the most commendable aspects of the new Chilean framework:
- Clear distinction from tobacco: Despite being included in tobacco legislation, the law explicitly separates SEAN and SESN from traditional tobacco products.
- Evidence-based nicotine limits: The maximum nicotine concentration of 45 mg/ml is based on practical considerations rather than arbitrary restrictions like the European Union’s problematic 20 mg/ml cap.
- Protection without prohibition: The law appropriately bans sales to minors while preserving adult access across various retail channels.
- Consumer information: Unlike outright advertising bans, the law allows regulated advertising, preserving the crucial right to inform consumers about alternatives to smoking.
- Regulatory transparency: Manufacturers must report annually to the Ministry of Health regarding product components, creating accountability without stifling innovation.
This approach recognizes a fundamental truth that Argentine regulators continue to ignore: vaping products are 95 percent safer than cigarettes, and arbitrarily banning them defies both common sense and scientific evidence.
Two Paths for Argentina: Sweden or Venezuela?
Argentina now faces a clear choice between two regulatory models with starkly different outcomes.
On the one hand, lies the Swedish approach — the undisputed European champion of smoking reduction. Sweden has achieved what many considered impossible: reducing smoking rates to just 5.3 percent, effectively reaching smoke-free status decades ahead of European Union targets. This remarkable achievement stems from what I call the “Triple-A” approach to innovative nicotine products:
- Accessibility: Making a wide variety of products available through diverse sales channels.
- Acceptability: Ensuring product diversity through various flavors and nicotine levels.
- Affordability: Keeping alternative products economically competitive with cigarettes.
The results speak volumes. While the EU struggles with an average 24 percent smoking rate, Sweden has slashed smoking prevalence by 65 percent since 2008. The public health impact has been dramatic: compared to EU averages, Sweden reports 21.2 percent fewer smoking-related deaths, 31.3 percent fewer cancer deaths, and 36 percent fewer lung cancer deaths specifically.
On the other hand, the Venezuelan model lies in a prohibition-based approach mirroring Argentina’s current stance. With scores of zero across all “3As” for vaping and heated tobacco products on the Path to Smoke-Free platform, Venezuela exemplifies the failed prohibitionist approach. Their smoking rate remains stubbornly high at 17 percent, highlighting how restrictive policies on alternatives often fail to reduce cigarette use.
Argentina’s Regulatory Paradox
Argentina’s current approach to vaping is not merely ineffective — it is paradoxical. With a smoking prevalence of 21.7 percent, the country clearly has failed to address its smoking problem through traditional methods alone. Yet regulators prioritize the prohibition of innovative alternatives over evidence-based harm reduction.
This stance becomes even more peculiar when one considers that Argentina allows the use of snus and nicotine pouches while maintaining a total ban on vaping products. This inconsistency suggests that ideology, not evidence, is driving regulatory decisions.
The irony is particularly striking given Argentina’s current administration, which has championed deregulation and market-based solutions across various sectors of the economy. The prohibitionist approach to vaping represents a curious holdover from the previous government’s regulatory philosophy — a relic of the past that contradicts the current administration’s broader economic vision.
Global Success Stories Beyond Sweden
Beyond Sweden, numerous countries have demonstrated the potential of embracing — rather than banning — innovative nicotine products.
Japan offers a particularly compelling case study. Following the introduction of heated tobacco products, cigarette sales have plummeted by an astonishing 52 percent. This transformation, driven primarily by consumers’ health concerns, demonstrates that when alternative nicotine products are widely available and communicated as safer alternatives, many smokers will choose to switch or reduce their cigarette consumption.
Similar trends have emerged in England, where daily smoking prevalence has fallen to 10.4 percent in 2023, a dramatic decline from 16.4 percent just eight years prior. This remarkable progress stems from a pragmatic embrace of vaping as an alternative to smoking, integrated into public health strategies.
The United States provides additional evidence of the impact of alternative nicotine products on smoking rates. Since vaping’s introduction in 2007, smoking prevalence has declined at an accelerated rate, particularly among those under 55 years of age. This correlation between increased vaping uptake and decreased smoking is particularly striking among younger demographic groups.
The Path Forward for Argentina
Argentina now stands at a critical juncture. It can continue following the failed prohibitionist model exemplified by Venezuela or embrace the evidence-based approach that has yielded remarkable results in countries like Sweden, Japan, and the UK.
The Chilean model offers a middle path — reasonable regulation that acknowledges legitimate concerns while preserving adult access to potentially life-saving alternatives. This balanced approach aligns perfectly with the current Argentine government’s broader philosophy of deregulation and consumer choice.
The prohibition of Innovative Nicotine Products (INPs) is indeed a relic from the past that should be abandoned. In an era where evidence-based policymaking is increasingly emphasized, Argentina’s continued ban on vaping products represents an ideological rather than scientific approach to public health.
For a country that has long prided itself on being at the forefront of Latin American development, Argentina’s stance on vaping remains curiously backward-looking. As Chile moves forward with reasonable regulation rather than prohibition, Argentina risks being left behind — clinging to outdated regulatory approaches while neighboring countries embrace innovation and harm reduction.
The evidence is clear: countries that have embraced innovative alternatives to smoking have seen dramatic reductions in smoking rates and associated health harms. It’s time for Argentina to follow suit.
* Federico N. Fernández is a visionary leader dedicated to driving innovation and change. As the CEO of We Are Innovation, a global network of 45+ think tanks and NGOs, Federico champions innovative solutions worldwide. His expertise and passion for innovation have earned him recognition from prestigious publications such as The Economist, El País, Folha de São Paulo, and Newsweek. Federico has also delivered inspiring speeches and lectures across three continents, authored numerous scholarly articles, and co-edited several books on economics.
Source: We Are Innovation
