Two Sessions E-Cigarette Proposals Roundup, New Policies May Follow

Since when did proposals regarding e-cigarettes start appearing at the Two Sessions? This year's delayed Two Sessions also brought up the topic of e-cigarettes, and there were quite a few discussions. Three representatives from the National People's Congress and two members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference brought proposals concerning e-cigarettes, indicating that they seem well-prepared and clearly intend to regulate e-cigarettes within a legal framework.

 

1. China should gradually prohibit the production and sale of e-cigarettes, and quickly revise and improve national smoking control and public place smoking bans to include e-cigarettes. Additionally, extensive multi-faceted campaigns should be conducted to prohibit the sale and use of e-cigarettes.

 

—— Ding Lieming, Chairman and CEO of Betta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., NPC Representative

 

2. In the revision of the Minor Protection Law, it should be clearly stated: prohibit the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes to minors; prohibit the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes within 100 meters of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and other places where minors gather; prohibit smoking and using e-cigarettes in classrooms, dormitories, activity rooms, and other places where minors gather. For violations of the above regulations, it is suggested that market supervision and health administrative departments issue warnings, order corrections within a time limit, and impose fines.

 

—— Qi Guoyan, Director of the Myasthenia Gravis Department at Shijiazhuang First Hospital, NPC Representative

 

3. By revising the Tobacco Monopoly Law and related supporting laws and regulations, e-cigarettes should be classified as tobacco products and strictly regulated, prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and pregnant women, prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes in indoor public places and transportation, and prohibiting the promotion of e-cigarettes as smoking cessation products.

 

—— Gao Yu, Executive Director of Chongqing Puyuwei Technology Innovation Center, NPC Representative

 

4. Strengthen the top-level design of the system, include e-cigarettes in the category of tobacco products, and implement monopoly management alongside traditional cigarettes; and have the National Health Commission and other departments jointly formulate mandatory national standards for e-cigarettes to provide professional basis for e-cigarette regulation; at the same time, strengthen industry law enforcement supervision, improve the joint governance system, and have market supervision departments regulate e-cigarette production quality standards, pre-market conditions, advertising, etc., strictly prohibiting exaggerated false advertising using terms like "beneficial to health" and "smoking cessation miracle" and reviewing and restricting e-cigarette information on apps like Douyin, Weibo, and WeChat.

 

—— Guo Guirong, Vice Mayor of Xiamen, CPPCC Member

 

5. In the legal amendments, it should be clearly stated: tobacco product and e-cigarette operators should set up signs in prominent positions indicating that they do not sell tobacco products and e-cigarettes to minors, and for those whose age is difficult to determine, they should be required to show identification; prohibit the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes within 100 meters of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and other places where minors gather; prohibit smoking and using e-cigarettes in classrooms, dormitories, activity rooms, and other places where minors gather.

 

—— Pan Biling, Deputy Director of the Hunan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, CPPCC Standing Committee Member

 

From these five proposals, one suggests banning the production and sale of e-cigarettes, which can be considered quite radical and somewhat unrealistic, and it offends many industry professionals. The other four proposals hope to strengthen the regulation of e-cigarettes, which seems relatively rational and can be understood and supported, but including e-cigarettes in the category of monopoly products seems a bit excessive.

 

Why is it said that banning the production and sale of e-cigarettes is unrealistic?

 

Since 2004, e-cigarettes invented and manufactured in China, primarily for export, have developed over more than a decade, forming a very mature and somewhat scaled industry chain. It not only has thousands of operating companies and related enterprises but also employs millions of workers, generating substantial foreign exchange income for the country each year. If e-cigarettes were to be banned outright, it would lead to the closure of many companies, and a large number of workers would lose their jobs, directly reducing the country's foreign exchange earnings. The stakeholders involved should be able to consider these relationships.

 

Why is there support for strengthening the regulation of e-cigarettes?

 

Without rules, there can be no order. For any industry to develop healthily and sustainably, it requires a sound regulatory system. The e-cigarette industry has been "running wild" for many years, and only in the past two years has it begun to receive attention from relevant departments, which have issued some management notices. The "online ban" is considered the strictest management measure in the history of e-cigarettes. Although this is not the outcome that industry professionals wish to see, from the perspective of benefiting the industry's development, industry professionals support strengthening the regulation of e-cigarettes while hoping to see the introduction of national standards and related management measures as soon as possible. Only in this way can industry professionals have rules to follow and conduct business legitimately in the sunlight.

 

Why is it said that including e-cigarettes in the category of monopoly products is excessive?

 

If e-cigarettes are forcibly included in the category of monopoly products, it lacks legal basis unless the Tobacco Monopoly Law is amended. If it is claimed that e-liquids contain tobacco components, making e-cigarettes fall under the Tobacco Monopoly Law, it would be unfair to manufacturers of smoking devices. E-cigarettes consist of two parts: e-liquids and smoking devices. In fact, throughout the entire production chain, e-liquids and smoking devices do not come from the same manufacturer. E-liquid manufacturers specialize in developing various flavors of e-liquids, supplying them directly to smoking device manufacturers or retailers. Smoking device manufacturers are responsible for producing smoking devices and purchasing e-liquids from e-liquid manufacturers, ultimately assembling them into finished products. Currently, the number of smoking device manufacturers is significantly greater than that of e-liquid manufacturers. If everything is monopolized, many smoking device manufacturers may be forced to "sell out" or go bankrupt.

 

In summary, whether through prohibition or monopoly, neither approach will solve the problem. From the perspective of benefiting public health, industry development, and practitioners, national standards and related management measures should be introduced as soon as possible, and unified regulatory efforts should be strengthened, which will be a win-win measure for all parties involved.

 

Finally, regarding the five proposals about e-cigarettes from NPC representatives and CPPCC members at the Two Sessions, I believe this may accelerate the introduction of national standards and related management measures for the industry. I trust that relevant national departments will take this seriously, begin investigations and research, clarify right from wrong, focus on the bigger picture, and soon provide a clear status for the e-cigarette industry.