Taipei: People entering Taiwan will be allowed to bring up to 200 heated tobacco product sticks into the country duty-free starting Feb. 1, but they will have to be bought in duty-free areas in Taiwan airports due to existing health approval rules.

According to Focus Taiwan, the only heated tobacco products-electronic devices that heat processed tobacco sticks at a lower temperature than conventional cigarettes-currently approved for sale in Taiwan are not sold overseas.

Travelers attempting to bring unapproved heated tobacco sticks from abroad after Feb. 1 to avoid paying duties will violate the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act and face fines ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$5 million, as stated by Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW).

Lo Su-ying, head of the Tobacco Control Division at the MOHW’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA), informed reporters that only two companies in Taiwan currently have designated heated tobacco products and component combinations approved by the MOHW. Lo emphasized that travelers may not bring in heated tobacco products purchased overseas, but they may buy approved products at duty-free shops in Taiwan airports or on outlying islands and bring them into the country under the new duty-free rules.

Lo also mentioned that the HPA sent information on approved heated tobacco product items that passed health risk assessments to the Customs Administration on Oct. 1 last year to serve as a reference for inspections upon entry. The HPA is committed to strengthening public communication and education efforts to help travelers understand the rules in advance and avoid violating the law.