Vape Ban in Panama Ruled Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court of Justice in Panama ruled unanimously that Panama’s ban on the sale of all vaping products is unconstitutional.  Announced last week, the ruling was in response to a lawsuit by a vaping consumer advocacy group, the Asociación por la Reducción de Daños del Tabaquismo de Panamá (ARDT Panama).

The court found that Law 315 violated parliamentary procedures found in Article 170 of the Panamanian constitution.  Law 315 prohibits the sale and import of all vaping and heated tobacco products with or without nicotine.  It also bans online sales, prohibits vaping where smoking is not allowed, and gave customs the authority to inspect, detain and seize shipments into Panama.  The law passed the National Assembly in 2021 with the approval of Laurentino Cortizo, the president at the time, in 2022.  Panama had previously prohibited vape sales under a 2014 health ministry decree.

The ARDT lawsuit challenges the ban on the basis that it violates the constitutional right to health, and alleges that the National Assembly violated parliamentary rules in passing the law.  The legal challenge was also supported by the Association of Smokers and Families for a Smoke-Free Panama and the Medicinal Cannabis Association of Panama.  It is unclear if the high court weighed in on the health-based challenge.