Countries where vaping is banned, what each ban covers

A stopover in Singapore, a fortnight in Thailand, then a week in Vietnam. On that route the same vape faces a different risk at every stage, and the lists of countries doing the rounds online do not say so. They give names, rarely the act that is banned or the point in the trip where it bites. Yet countries where vaping is banned at the till pose a very different problem from those that ban the device at the border or in the street.

Countries where vaping is banned, the short answer

The riskiest destinations for a traveller are those that ban bringing the device in or simply having it. The FCDO’s foreign travel advice places Thailand, Singapore, India, Mexico, Qatar, Vietnam, Brazil and Hong Kong in that group, and France’s travel advice adds Turkey.

That list is not exhaustive, and it dates quickly. Hong Kong, for instance, prohibits bringing vapes in and, since 30 April 2026, also bans possessing one in a public place, whether or not it is in use. More useful than a list of countries where vaping is banned is knowing which act each rule actually targets.

Sale, import, possession, use, four separate bans

The word ban covers four situations that do not arrive at the same moment of a trip. The table sorts them by the question a traveller actually asks, each with a documented example.

What is banned	When it affects you	Documented example	What it means for your bag
Sale	On arrival, when you try to buy	Vietnam, where you cannot buy vapes	No restocking once you are there
Import	At the arrival customs desk	Hong Kong, including vapes in personal luggage	The kit does not cross the border
Possession	Everywhere, sometimes even in transit	Thailand, with no exception for tourists	The kit stays at home, even for a stopover
Use	In public places, sometimes everywhere	Mexico, where vaping in public can be fined	Know where you may use it, not just whether you may pack it

These levels often stack up, and possession is the line that matters most. A country that bans it makes your kit illegal every minute of the stay, and sometimes during a mere connection.

Four documented cases, four different traps

The examples below rest on two official sources, the FCDO’s travel advice and France’s Conseils aux voyageurs. Each one shows a trap that online lists leave out.

Singapore and Hong Kong, two stopovers that differ

For Singapore, the FCDO says bringing vapes into the country is illegal, even for personal use, and a vape found on you is confiscated and may bring a fine. France’s advice adds the point that matters for a stopover. The penalties also apply to transit passengers carrying vapes in their cabin bags, which are checked before the connecting flight boards.

Hong Kong works differently. According to the FCDO, travellers who transit without passing through immigration control are exempt from its restrictions. On a map the two hubs look alike, but for a passenger who stays airside, only Singapore puts a vape in the cabin bag at risk.

Thailand, no exception for tourists

The FCDO states that possessing or using any vape, pod, e-liquid or heated tobacco device is illegal in Thailand, with no exceptions for tourists or personal use. Fines typically run from 5,000 to 30,000 baht, alongside confiscation, and a traveller can be kept in the country until the case is closed.

The French advice fills in the prison terms the British page leaves out. Thai law allows up to five years for possession and up to ten years for importing, which makes the border the most serious point of the journey.

Mexico, where the British advice goes further

France’s advice sticks to imports, banned by a presidential decree dated 19 January 2020 and applied from the 20th. It adds nothing else on that point.

The FCDO goes much further. Bringing vapes into Mexico, buying them and selling them are all illegal, customs officers confiscate them and can fine or detain you, and vaping in a public place can bring a fine of up to 3,000 Mexican pesos.

Turkey, where the French advice says more

France’s advice states that e-cigarettes and vaping products, liquids and accessories included, are prohibited from import and possession in Turkey, with seizure and a customs fine. The FCDO’s Turkey pages, read for this guide, said nothing on the subject.

It also works the other way round. The FCDO’s Vietnam advice says you cannot buy a vape there or bring one in, a point missing from the Entrée et séjour and Informations utiles sections of the French page.

Checking the rule before you go, in three readings

No list of countries where vaping is banned replaces a fresh reading of official sources for every country on the ticket, stopovers included. Three readings complement one another and take less than an evening.

Read the FCDO advice, then a second government’s

On gov.uk, the relevant details sit in each country’s Entry requirements and Safety and security pages. France’s Conseils aux voyageurs, readable with a browser translation, serves as a second opinion. As Mexico and Turkey show, the two do not always carry the same detail, and when they differ the stricter reading should shape your packing.

Read your airline’s page

Some airlines flag a destination ban themselves. Air France states that e-cigarettes are strictly banned in India and cannot be carried there in the cabin or the hold. An airline saying nothing about a country is not permission, though.

Go back to the country’s own source

The travel advice pages often point to the authority concerned, such as the Singapore Customs list of prohibited items or the Thai customs website. Those links take you as close as you can get to the rule applied on the ground.

Packing to match the level of restriction

Once the scope is clear, packing almost decides itself. Where import or possession is banned, the vape stays at home, with its liquids and accessories whenever the advice names them.

If only sale is banned, you bring your own kit and enough liquid for the stay, within the cabin rules covered in our guide to whether you can take a vape on a plane. When use is restricted, you find out before leaving where vaping remains allowed.

That leaves the stopover in a country that bans possession in transit. There are two options, a different route or travelling without the vape, and neither should be decided at the check in desk.

FAQ

Five questions come up often when planning a stay in a restrictive country, beyond the cases covered above.

Are liquids and accessories on their own covered?

In some countries, yes. France’s advice on Turkey names vaping liquids and accessories, and the FCDO’s Thailand page lists pods and e-liquids. When in doubt, the whole kit stays at home.

Do I have to declare a vape at customs on arrival?

The FCDO’s pages on Qatar and Singapore both say you must declare anything that may be prohibited. Declaring does not make a banned product legal, and it can still be confiscated on arrival.

Are heated tobacco devices covered too?

In several countries, yes. The FCDO says heated tobacco products and their devices cannot be brought into Hong Kong, and its Thailand page lists heated tobacco devices among the items that are illegal to possess.

Is a vape tolerated in a hotel room?

Not in a country that bans possession. For Singapore, France’s advice states that e-cigarettes are banned even at home, and a hotel room offers no more shelter than that.

How long before departure should I check?

When booking, to choose the route, then again a few days before leaving, to reread the advice. The update date shown on each page helps you spot a recent change.

Countries where vaping is banned, the habit to form before booking

A list of countries is not enough, because it says neither which act is banned nor when the ban bites. Sale, import, possession and use are read separately, country by country and stopover by stopover.

The method is three readings, two government advice pages, the airline page, then the country’s own source. Knowing whether the countries where vaping is banned forbid it at the border, in the street or only in shops decides what goes in the bag, and the rest of the trip is then planned with the same care.

Next legs of the trip

Éther Nomade writes for readers aged 18 and over. Most vaping products contain nicotine, an addictive substance, and nicotine vaping products are not for sale to under-18s in the UK. This travel guide is editorial, not a buying recommendation.