The update has highlighted decreased regulatory burden in countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, thanks to new e-cig regulations and a significant increased regulatory burden in India, Montenegro, and the Philippines.
In India’s case, the increased burden is due to the recent ban set in place by the government, while in the Philippines it is due to the imposition of vapour tax. The update has also added three new countries to the list: Albania, Tunisia, and North Macedonia.
The ERBI is a tool that vaping companies looking to operate internationally can refer to, in order to arm themselves with the latest knowledge and give themselves the best chance of success. The ERBI is based on 23 factors, that ECigIntelligence has identified as essential for measuring the legal hurdles retailers and manufacturers across the globe face.
Forecasting change in the regulatory framework
Besides evaluating the current situation in each market, the ERBI also forecasts changes in the regulatory framework for the upcoming six-month period and provides information on the nature of anticipated change, for example an increase in a country’s tax rate. The index is presented as a percentage (%) ranging from zero to 100, where 0% is an absence of restrictions and 100% is a complete e-cigarette ban.
On the other hand, the index does not take into account local enforcement, the level of implementation, public awareness or local governments’ stance on vaping. The ERBI is user-friendly and variations among countries are represented on a map in ten different categories, with 10% increments.
