The Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA) has proposed banning vaporisation products as it works on amendments to the Tobacco Control Act, setting the stage for a significant tightening of controls on vaping even as a new policy study calls for differentiated taxation of alternative tobacco products to encourage existing smokers to move away from combustible tobacco.
A BFDA official said the agency has submitted its recommendations to the Cabinet as part of the amendment process. The proposals come amid growing concerns from schools, parents and teachers over vaping among students, including reports of students using electrical sockets on school premises to charge vaping devices.
The BFDA, together with other relevant agencies, has conducted a gap analysis of the existing tobacco-control framework and is proposing stronger provisions covering minors, product quality and quantity.
It is also exploring an import-authorisation system under which tobacco and nicotine products could be brought into Bhutan for testing before being authorised for consumption.
The moves come as Parliament reviews the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2026. During consultations in Paro earlier this year, the National Council’s Social and Cultural Affairs Committee recorded concerns about increasing underage purchase and consumption of electronic cigarettes and vapes, as well as difficulties in preventing illegal sales and regulating the entry of tobacco products.
At the same time, a policy brief published in June presents a different approach to alternative tobacco products.
The study, A Harm Reduction and Fiscal Strategy for the Post-Liberalization Era: A Policy Framework for Regulating Alternative Tobacco Products in Bhutan, by Karma Choden, Sonam Tshering and Carmelo Ferlito, argues that Bhutan’s current tax structure could reduce the financial incentive for existing smokers to switch from combustible tobacco to alternative products.
The researchers calculate a cumulative fiscal burden of about 115 percent on alternative tobacco products and argue that taxation should distinguish between combustible tobacco and alternatives, while maintaining strict age restrictions, product standards, registration, monitoring and controls on marketing and sales.
The 115 percent figure is the researchers’ calculation of the cumulative fiscal burden and is not a single tax rate imposed by the Government.
The study also models the possible healthcare savings if existing smokers completely switched from combustible tobacco to alternative products.
It estimates that a 10 percent complete-switch rate could potentially avoid about 55 tobacco-attributable hospitalisations a year, equivalent to around USD 1.34 million in direct annual healthcare savings.
At a 25 percent switching rate, the model estimates about 138 avoided hospitalisations and USD 3.35 million in potential annual savings. At 50 percent, the figures rise to about 275 avoided hospitalisations and USD 6.71 million, while a 75 percent switching rate could mean about 413 avoided hospitalisations and USD 10.06 million in potential direct healthcare savings.
The researchers, however, stress that these are modelled estimates, not savings already realised by Bhutan.
Karma Choden, an author of the study and an Economic Lecturer at Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law, said the estimates depend on several underlying assumptions, particularly the assumption that smokers completely switch away from combustible tobacco.
“The amount is derived from the model, but this assumption also relies on other foundational assumptions,” she said.
She said better data on actual switching behaviour would be needed before the model could be applied more fully.
“If we are able to get proper data, then only, based on that, we will be able to fully use that in the formula that we have adopted,” she said.
The study estimates that Bhutan has about 87,568 combustible-tobacco smokers and around 787 tobacco-attributable hospitalisations annually. It puts the broader annual economic burden of tobacco at approximately USD 19.16 million, equivalent to about 0.7 percent of GDP.
That broader estimate includes healthcare and treatment costs as well as economic losses associated with tobacco-related illness and premature mortality.
The potential savings in the switching model are narrower, referring specifically to direct healthcare costs associated with potentially avoided hospitalisations. The study estimates the average cost of a serious tobacco-attributable hospitalisation at about USD 24,358, which is used to calculate the potential savings under different switching scenarios.
Karma Choden said any policy involving alternative tobacco products would require strong regulation, monitoring, enforcement and public awareness.
The researchers’ proposal is aimed at existing tobacco consumers, rather than encouraging non-users to take up tobacco or nicotine products. The study also acknowledges that alternative products are not risk-free and argues that any differentiated regulatory approach must be accompanied by measures to prevent youth access and inappropriate use.
The BFDA’s proposed amendments and the policy study thus raise two distinct considerations as Bhutan reviews its tobacco-control framework: how to prevent youth access and strengthen control over emerging products, and whether taxation should distinguish between combustible tobacco and alternatives as part of a harm-reduction strategy for existing smokers.
For the researchers, however, the potential health and economic gains remain dependent on what happens in practice.
The modelled savings would take time to emerge and would require better evidence on actual switching behaviour, tobacco-related illness, hospitalisations and healthcare expenditure before their real-world impact could be assessed.
Nidup Lhamo, Thimphu
