Guyana restricts vaping imports with mandatory Health Minister approval

Guyana has placed vaping products on its list of restricted imports, meaning e-cigarettes, vaping devices, components and e-liquids can no longer be cleared through customs without the written approval of the Minister responsible for Health. The measure is set out in Order No. 196 of 2026, the Customs (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 2026, published in The Official Gazette of Guyana No. 429/2026 (Extraordinary) of 10 November 2026.

The order was made on 6 November 2026 in exercise of the powers conferred by section 43(2) of the Customs Act (Cap. 82:01), and carries the signature of the Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance. It amends Part II of the Second Schedule to the Act — the List of Restricted Imports — by inserting a new item 16 immediately after item 15. The instrument appears in Legal Supplement B of the gazette, opening at page 1125.

Approval limited to research, training and medicine

Item 16 covers vaping products, vaping devices, vaping components and vaping substances, “except where their importation is approved in writing by the Minister responsible for Health”. A proviso attached to the entry removes ministerial discretion over the purpose of the import: the Minister “shall not grant approval unless the vaping products are intended for use in scientific research, training or for a medical purpose”. No other ground for approval is provided.

The practical effect is that recreational stock — disposable vapes, refillable pod kits, flavoured e-liquids and the accessories sold with them — has no route to lawful import, since retail sale and personal use fall outside the three permitted purposes. Importers, distributors and retailers must now obtain written clearance before shipment, rather than clearing goods on arrival.

What the order defines as a vaping product

The order sets out its own definitions, drafted broadly enough to capture products regardless of how they are branded or described:

• A vaping product is a vaping device, a vaping component or a vaping substance, “whether or not it contains, or is intended for use with, nicotine, tobacco, cannabis, a cannabinoid or any other substance, and by whatever name, brand, shape, size or form it is described, presented or sold”.
• A vaping device is any device that uses a battery, electric current or other non-combustion energy source to heat, vaporise, aerosolise or atomise a substance and produces an aerosol, vapour or mist for inhalation — expressly including an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic pipe, vape pen, pod device, box mod, dab pen and dry-herb vaporiser.
• A vaping component is any part, accessory or consumable designed, intended or marketed for use with a vaping device, whether imported with the device or separately, including cartridges, pods, capsules, tanks, atomisers, coils, wicks, heating elements, mouthpieces, flavour attachments, and batteries, chargers or power units made for a vaping device.
• A vaping substance is any substance or mixture — including e-liquid, oil, distillate, concentrate, wax, resin or gel — that is packaged, labelled, marketed or intended for use in or with a vaping device.

Medical devices and room humidifiers stay outside the list

The order carves out two categories. The first is medical inhalation products: drugs designed to be administered by inhalation, and devices made for the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of disease by inhalation or to support breathing. The listed examples are metered-dose, dry-powder and soft-mist inhalers, spacers and valved holding chambers, nebulisers, medical steam inhalers, oxygen therapy equipment, ventilators, continuous or bilevel positive airway pressure devices, respiratory humidifiers, anaesthetic vaporisers and anaesthesia machines, together with their masks, mouthpieces, tubing and chambers — whether imported by a hospital, health care provider, pharmacy or wholesaler, or by an individual for personal use, and whether or not supplied on prescription.

The second exclusion covers a humidifier, diffuser or similar appliance designed to release vapour or mist into a room or other space and not for direct inhalation from the appliance. Components used for a medical purpose are likewise excluded from the definition of a vaping component.

The restriction shifts the burden of proof onto the trade: without a written ministerial approval tied to research, training or clinical use, a consignment of vaping goods is now a restricted import under the Customs Act (Cap. 82:01), exposed to seizure and to the penalties attaching to restricted goods. For consumers, the visible consequence is the removal of the legal supply chain for recreational e-cigarettes, while pharmacies, hospitals and research institutions retain a documented pathway for inhalation medicines and approved study.

Source: The Official Gazette of Guyana, No. 429/2026, 10 November 2026, Legal Supplement B, p. 1125 (official reference: Order No. 196 of 2026).