Last month, a guy walks into Kim’s. Big smile, fresh off the plane, asks me where he can plug in his vape to charge. He had the strawberry pod, the lanyard, the whole setup. Looked at me like I was about to point him to the nearest socket.
I had to break it to him gently.
So before I get to him – is vaping legal in Vietnam? No, my friend. It is not. And as of December 31, 2025, using one in this country can cost you up to 5 million dong, plus the device itself goes in the bin. That is roughly 200 US dollars to find out the hard way.
Most expats and tourists I serve still do not know this. The law shifted late last year and the news cycle moved on. Meanwhile, guys are walking into bars on Huynh Thuc Khang, Bui Vien, Thao Dien, you name it, with no idea that the rules just changed in a way that hits them, not just the shop that sold the device. So let me give you the rundown.
Quick Note – Who Am I?
I am Dom. I work the bar at Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar, 20 Huynh Thuc Khang, District 1. Been here about a year now, pouring drinks for the regulars, new guys in town, groups on bachelor trips, businessmen escaping a long Tuesday, all of them.
Some of the regulars have been kind enough to leave me a few reviews on Google, which I appreciate.
I am not a lawyer, not a policeman, not your tour guide. I am the guy behind the bar who has watched this exact conversation happen with about a hundred different tourists in the last twelve months. So when I tell you the vape thing is real, I mean I have seen it.
The Big Shift – You Are The One Who Pays Now
Here is what most articles online still get wrong, because they were written before the law changed.
Vietnam’s National Assembly passed Resolution 173/2024/QH15 back in November 2024, and the ban officially started on January 1, 2025. That made the production, sale, import, transport, storage, and use of all e-cigarettes and heated tobacco illegal. So far, fine, that is what most people heard about.
What most people missed is what came next.
On December 31, 2025, the government brought in Decree 371/2025/ND-CP. This is the one that matters for you. Before this decree, enforcement was mostly aimed at importers and shops. Decree 371 changes the target. It puts the fine on the user. The person holding the device. You.
You don’t have to take my word for it – VnExpress reported the new fine framework when it was announced, and it lines up with what I am telling you here.
So if you walk down Bui Vien with a pod in your hand in 2026, the law no longer cares whether the shop that sold it to you was breaking the rules. It cares about you.
The Numbers – What It Actually Costs
Three tiers under Decree 371:
- You, the user: 3 to 5 million dong (around 115 to 190 US dollars), and your device gets destroyed.
- The bar or venue that lets you do it on premises: 5 to 10 million dong (around 210 to 420 US dollars).
- A company or organisation that allows it: double that. 10 to 20 million dong, roughly 420 to 760 US dollars.
That is up to 200 dollars for one pull on a strawberry pod, and you lose the device on top. I tell my customers this and their face changes.
There is also the airport angle. If you fly into Tan Son Nhat with a vape in your luggage, customs will find it – they have been actively confiscating since January 2025 – and you can be hit with up to 2 million dong on the spot, plus the device goes. Not the welcome to Saigon you were planning.
What Counts As “A Vape” Under The Ban
This is where the boys try to get clever and find loopholes. There are none. The law is written wide on purpose:
- All vapes – mods, pods, disposables, custom rigs, every type
- All e-liquid, including zero-nicotine fruit juice
- IQOS and any heated tobacco product
- Components, parts, accessories, refills
- Bringing them into the country, using them, owning them, selling them
Your custom rig from home counts. Your zero-nicotine mango pod counts. Your IQOS your friend gave you in Bangkok counts. All of it.
Why Kim’s Doesn’t Allow It – And No Real Bar Does Either
Real talk. We are not the vape police at Kim’s. None of us care what you do on your own time. But if I let you spark up a pod at the bar, Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar takes a fine of 5 to 10 million dong under that same Decree 371. That is before we even talk about what it does to our licence and our standing with the local authorities.
So when one of the girls smiles and asks you to pop it in your pocket or step outside, please do not give her a hard time. She is protecting the bar, the owner Ms Kim, and honestly, you. Because the next thing I want to tell you is the thing nobody else online is going to tell you.
Undercover police come into bars on Huynh Thuc Khang. They have been into Kim’s. I know other bar owners up and down District 1 who have had the same experience. They do not wear the uniform, they do not announce themselves. They walk in like a customer, order a drink, and watch.
This is not paranoia and this is not a Kim’s-specific thing. This is just how District 1 works in 2026, and any honest bar owner in Saigon will tell you the same. The community here talks. We know what is going on.
So when you see a “no vaping” sign at any decent bar in this city, do not roll your eyes at it. The bar is not being uptight. The bar knows.
The Honest Reality On The Ground
I am not going to lie to you and tell you every vaper gets caught. Plenty of guys still puff away on a side street at 2am and walk away fine. Vietnam is a big country, the công an have a lot to do, and enforcement is not on every corner. If it was, every disposable vape in District 1 would already be in a bin.
But here is the honest read, from a guy who watches this play out every weekend:
- The law is real, the fine is real, and Decree 371 is being enforced
- Bui Vien Walking Street and Huynh Thuc Khang are both under increased pressure – tourist nightlife strips are exactly where the checks are happening
- Confiscation is automatic. Even if officers decide to be lenient on the fine, they take the device. Always.
- Trying to argue your way out at 1am in a language you do not speak, in front of a công an officer who has heard every excuse, is not a fight you are winning
- The fine is the floor. Repeat offences, attitude, or other stuff in your bag changes the picture quickly
Vietnam News covered the original ban announcement at the end of 2024, and at the time, plenty of expats assumed it was paper law that would never be enforced. Decree 371 is the proof that it is no longer paper. It is real. People are paying.
I am not telling you what to do. I am telling you what happens if it goes wrong. Some of you will read this and still take the chance. That is on you. But you cannot say a Vietnamese bartender in District 1 did not warn you.
So What Do You Do Instead?
A few options if you are a nicotine guy:
- Leave the vape at home before you fly. Customs will find it. You will lose it anyway. Better to lose it to your own bin than to Tan Son Nhat customs along with a 2 million dong fine.
- Nicotine patches and gum are legal and easy to find. Pharmacity and Long Chau pharmacies stock them. They are on every other corner in District 1.
- Cigarettes are legal and cheap. A pack of locally-made smokes costs almost nothing here. I am not recommending you take up smoking, brother, just stating the fact.
- Nicotine pouches like ZYN are sitting in a legal grey area at the moment. Not banned, not officially regulated either. I am not your dealer, just letting you know they exist.
- Or, and this is my actual suggestion – take a few nights off the nicotine, come into Kim’s, have a cold Tiger draft, talk to one of the girls, and remember why you came to Saigon in the first place. Most of the boys who try this leave happier than the ones who spent the night dodging police on Bui Vien.
If you are new to Saigon and trying to figure out where to actually go for a proper night out without any of this hassle, the team has put together a rundown of the best girl bars in Ho Chi Minh City. We are at the top of that list, naturally, but the whole guide is a solid place to start.
The Bottom Line From The Bar
The 5 million dong vape fine is the kind of thing nobody warns you about until it is already happening. Now you know. Tell your mates before they fly. If you are already here, leave the pod at the hotel and come and have a real night out instead.
Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar is at 20 Huynh Thuc Khang, District 1. Two floors, two full bars, pool tables upstairs, the friendliest girls in Saigon, and a strict no-vape policy that will actually save you money. Come and say hello. I will be the one behind the bar.
Lots of love from all the girls at Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar xoxo
