Vietnam bans import of sex toys for personal use - Monsters and Critics
Vietnam bans import of sex toys for personal use
Oct 12, 2011, 4:57 GMT
Hanoi - Vietnam has banned all imports of sex toys for personal use or as gifts, an official said Wednesday.
According to a decision by Vietnam's Customs Department, passengers with sex toys in their hand luggage must hand them over to customs, said Tran Vu Minh, a senior official from the department.
If the devices are brought to Vietnam in checked luggage, passengers must send them out of the country again or the items will be destroyed.
The decision was signed last week and took effect immediately, Minh said.
The import of sex toys for commercial purposes is already banned in Vietnam. Last month the department sent a statement to the Customs Control and Supervision Division complaining there were no regulations on the import of sex toys for personal use or as gifts.
The statement came after many sex toys were imported into the country in hand luggage, the newspaper Thanh Nien said.
In 2009, the government imposed a ban on 'cultural activities which promote debauched lifestyles or go against tradition.'