Romanian lawmakers from a cross-party coalition have introduced a bill to ban e-cigarettes, vapes, and heated tobacco products in all enclosed public spaces. The initiative, backed by USR, PSD, and PNL MPs, aims to protect non-smokers and youth from passive aerosol exposure.
Closing the Tobacco Industry Loophole
While traditional combustible cigarettes are already banned in Romania’s enclosed public spaces, tobacco manufacturers have bypassed these restrictions through electronic alternatives. These devices have become highly popular among Romanian adolescents.
The draft law, initiated by Diana Stoica and Ruxandra Cibu Deaconu (USR), Adrian Streinu Cercel (PSD), and Maria Gabriela Horga (PNL), redefines smoking to include the inhalation of aerosols from heated tobacco, nicotine, or other vaporized substances, excluding medical products.
“The tobacco industry has adapted and offered smokers new products with nicotine or other toxic substances, which today are used more and more in spaces where smoking is prohibited,” said Ruxandra Cibu Deaconu, a member of the Senate Health Commission. “It is absolutely necessary to align the legislation and mention them explicitly in the definition of smoking.”
Addressing Indoor Air Quality and Health Risks
Proponents of the bill highlight warnings from the World Health Organization (WHO) showing that secondhand aerosols increase fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in indoor environments. European studies also associate short-term indoor vaping with eye and airway irritation for bystanders.
Co-initiator Diana Stoica emphasized the severity of the issue: “Romania is in first place in Europe for avoidable deaths. Nine out of ten lung cancers are caused by smoking. And smoking is smoking, regardless of the object used. Our children have the right to breathe clean air when they go to the mall, eat at a restaurant, or ride in a taxi.”
The Romanian Society of Pulmonology and the Romanian Society of Cardiology have publicly opposed marketing e-cigarettes as a healthy alternative. Both organizations warn of acute risks to adolescents and rising cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases among adults, regardless of nicotine content.
