Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act 1993

Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act 1993 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act for the control of advertising, import, sale, possession and use of tobacco products, vaporisers and imitation tobacco products, to control the consumption of certain psychoactive substances, to provide for the treatment and rehabilitation of certain persons and for matters connected therewith. [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] [31 May 1993] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act 1993. [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “access” includes — (a) access that is subject to a precondition (such as, but not limited to, the use of a password); (b) access by way of push technology; or (c) access by way of a standing request; “advertisement” includes any notice, circular, pamphlet, brochure, programme, price list, label, wrapper or other document and any announcement, notification or intimation to the public or any section of the public or to any person or persons made — (a) orally or in writing; (b) by means of any poster, placard, notice or other document affixed, posted up or displayed on any wall, billboard or hoarding or on any other object or thing; (c) by means of producing or transmitting sound or light and whether for aural or visual reception or both; (d) by means of any writing on any vehicle, ashtray, calendar, cigarette lighter, clock or any other object or thing; or (e) in any other manner; “approved institution” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “authorised officer” means any officer or person appointed under section 19; “Authority” means the Health Sciences Authority established under the Health Sciences Authority Act 2001; “chewing tobacco” means loose‑leaf tobacco, plug tobacco, twist tobacco or tobacco bits intended for chewing; “Chief Executive” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Health Sciences Authority Act 2001; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “child” means any person who is below 16 years of age; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “cigarette” means any product which consists in whole or in part of cut, shredded or manufactured tobacco, or any tobacco derivative or tobacco substitute, rolled up in paper, tobacco leaf or other material and which is in any form that is capable of immediate use; “community rehabilitation centre” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “conveyance” includes any vessel, train, aircraft, vehicle, trailer or other mode of transport; “emission” means any substance that is produced when a tobacco product is used; “imitation tobacco product” means anything mentioned in section 16A(1)(a), but excludes any vaporiser; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “inmate” means a person who is detained in an approved institution or a community rehabilitation centre pursuant to an order made under section 19T; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “licence” means an import and wholesale licence mentioned in section 18(1) or (2), or a retail licence mentioned in section 18(3); “newspaper” includes any magazine, journal, periodical or any other publication containing news, intelligence, information or reports of occurrences, or any remarks, observations or comments in relation either to such news, intelligence, information or occurrences or to any other matter of interest to the public or any section of the public, issued in any language at regular or irregular intervals; “nicotine analogue” means a substance — (a) the chemical structure of which is similar to the chemical structure of nicotine; or (b) the consumption or use of which has neurological effects that are similar in nature to the neurological effects associated with the consumption or use of nicotine; Illustrations Nicotine salts. Nicotine derivatives. [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “packaging”, in relation to any product or article, means any container and any other packaging material in which or with which the product or article is supplied, and includes — (a) the box, carton, cylinder, packet, pouch, tin or other receptacle which contains the product or article; (b) where any such receptacle is or is to be contained in one or more other receptacles, each of the other receptacles; (c) wrapper or wrapping of any nature or form; (d) any accompanying leaflet, brochure or other written material; and (e) any written, printed or graphic representation that appears on or with, or is attached to, the product or article or any part of its packaging; “point of sale” means an immobile cash register or counter at which a sale by retail may be made, and does not include a conveyance or vending machine; “premises” includes any or part of any vacant land, building, conveyance or place in Singapore; “psychoactive effect” means the stimulation or depression, whether directly or indirectly, of an individual’s central nervous system, affecting the individual’s mental functioning or emotional state; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “publish”, in relation to an advertisement, includes to distribute, show, exhibit, display or broadcast by any form of communication or in any manner; “retail outlet” means any shop, kiosk or stall in Singapore at which goods are sold or exposed for sale by retail; “Review Committee” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “section 14 tobacco product” means a tobacco product that is, or falls within a class of tobacco products, described in section 14(1); [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “section 15 tobacco product” means a tobacco product that is, or falls within a class of tobacco products, described in section 15(1)(a); [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “sell” includes — (a) to barter or exchange; or (b) to supply in circumstances in which the supplier derives a direct benefit, pecuniary or otherwise; “Singapore‑connected person” means — (a) a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore; (b) an individual in Singapore; (c) a company or other body corporate incorporated in, or having its central management and control in, Singapore; or (d) an unincorporated body established in Singapore, and includes any person or persons constituting or responsible for the management of a person in paragraph (c) or (d); “smoking” means inhaling and expelling the smoke of any tobacco product and includes the holding of any tobacco product which is alight or emitting smoke; “specified psychoactive substance” means a substance or product specified in the Schedule or falling within a class of substances or products specified in the Schedule, being a substance or product — (a) that has the capacity to have a psychoactive effect on an individual if the individual smokes, inhales or otherwise consumes, the substance or product; and (b) that is abused or is likely to be abused by using a Part 3A product as defined in section 19A(1); [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “tobacco product” means — (a) a cigarette or cigar, or any other form of tobacco; (b) a tobacco derivative; (c) a tobacco substitute; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] (d) a mixture containing any form of tobacco or a tobacco derivative or tobacco substitute; or [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] (e) any article or thing that comprises 2 or more components, at least one of which is or contains any form of tobacco, a tobacco derivative, a tobacco substitute or a mixture mentioned in paragraph (d), [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] but does not include a therapeutic product registered under the Health Products Act 2007; “tobacco substitute” means any article, object or thing that contains nicotine or a nicotine analogue, but does not include any of the following: (a) a cigarette or cigar, or any other form of tobacco; (b) a tobacco derivative; (c) a mixture containing any form of tobacco or a tobacco derivative; (d) a therapeutic product registered under the Health Products Act 2007; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “trade mark” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1998; “unauthorised advertisement” means any advertisement described in section 3(1)(a), (b), (c) or (d), but not — (a) a price list mentioned in section 3(2); (b) an advertisement the publication of which is approved under section 3(6); or (c) an advertisement published, or caused to be published, by a person exempted under section 22 from section 3(1); “under-aged person” means — (a) for 12 months after the date prescribed, an individual who is below 19 years of age; (b) for 12 months after the end of the period in paragraph (a), an individual who is below 20 years of age; and (c) at any time after the end of the period in paragraph (b), an individual who is below 21 years of age; “use”, in relation to any tobacco product, means smoking, chewing, inhaling, ingesting or otherwise introducing the tobacco product or any of its constituents or emissions into the human body (whether by oral means or otherwise); “vaporiser” means any device or article that is used, intended to be used or described to be suitable for use for the purpose of vaporising any liquid or substance to produce any emission (including any aerosol) for oral inhalation by a user of the device or article, but does not include — (a) any section 15 tobacco product; or (b) a therapeutic product registered under the Health Products Act 2007; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “vulnerable person” means any person who suffers from an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain resulting from any disability or disorder of the mind or brain which impairs the ability to make a proper judgment in relation to the commission of any offence under this Act; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “writing” includes painting, inscription, printing, lithography, typewriting, photography and other modes of representing or reproducing words or figures in visible form; [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] “young person” means any person who is below 21 years of age. [Act 9 of 2026 wef 01/05/2026] [9/2016; 46/2017; 9/2019] (2) For the purposes of this Act, a sale or a purchase (as the case may be) that is transacted online is regarded as a sale or a purchase in Singapore if, and only if, the purchaser is physically present in Singapore and the purchased product is intended to be delivered in Singapore. [46/2017]