Uzbekistan’s parliament has taken the first step to prohibit e-cigarettes in the country, following Kyrgyzstan, which adopted a ban in late 2024.

The Uzbek bill, approved in its first reading by MPs, would prohibit the use, import, export, manufacture and transport of electronic nicotine delivery systems or their components, according to a January 7 report published by yuz.uz. It is uncertain how the measure would apply to foreign tourists.

“Electronic cigarettes, in addition to nicotine, contain 80 different carcinogenic and toxic chemical compounds and heavy metals that cause serious harm to human health and the environment,” the report stated. E-cigarette marketing often targets children, according to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, an advocacy group.

Kyrgyzstan’s ban on e-cigarettes in set to go into effect in July. Overall, over two dozen nations worldwide have introduced e-cigarette bans, according to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

The clampdown on electronic means of consuming tobacco products is at odds with relatively lax attitudes in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan on smoking tobacco.

According to the Tobacco Atlas, a project operating under the auspices of The Johns Hopkins University, just over half of Kyrgyzstan’s male citizens are tobacco smokers, according to the most recent available data, and over 13 percent of deaths each year are linked to tobacco use.  In Uzbekistan, just over 20 percent of males are tobacco smokers, and 8.5 percent of deaths annually are linked to tobacco use. The number of regular female smokers in both countries is comparatively small.