Travelling with your electronic cigarette: is it possible everywhere?

Permitted everywhere for a long time, the electronic cigarette is now banned in a good many places, mainly on public transport. Ahead of the summer season and the holiday departures, here is a review of what is still allowed and what no longer is.

Travelling by train or plane with your electronic cigarette

The law prohibits vaping in public places, which includes public transport. On the train, vaping is strictly forbidden, but you may keep your electronic cigarette with you. As for air travel, since 2016 on transatlantic routes it has been forbidden not only to vape but also to keep an electronic cigarette in the cabin on any flight bound for the United States. London and Washington have extended that ban to every device larger than a smartphone, mainly on airlines from predominantly Muslim countries: Egyptair, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Saudia, Royal Air Maroc, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines and Royal Jordanian Airlines.

Air France, for its part, tells passengers that electronic cigarettes and their lithium batteries are banned from the hold so as not to increase the risk of fire, but allowed in cabin baggage. Using them on board is forbidden, as the vapour could set off the smoke detectors.

Can you travel to any country with an electronic cigarette?

Apart from Mauritius and Thailand, which ban vaping and the carrying of an electronic cigarette, with serious trouble from the authorities for anyone caught, almost every other destination is “e-cigarette friendly”. Plenty of e-liquid shops can be found locally. Here are a few country-specific points to note:

• Tunisia: very few authorised e-liquids are sold
• Japan: very few vape shops on the ground, and only nicotine-free e-liquids are on sale
• Italy, Greece, South Korea and Indonesia: e-liquids are taxed
• Finland: the same bans as for cigarettes, and e-liquids contain no artificial flavourings or additives
• Canada: only neutral e-liquids are allowed in Ontario, and it is not possible to test a product before buying
• Australia: nicotine is classed as a poison, and a prescription must state that the traveller needs their products if these contain any