Key Points in the New Minor Protection Law: Maximum Fine of 500,000 Yuan

The newly revised "Minor Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" will take effect on June 1, 2021. This is the first time a national law explicitly prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. In this regard, we will provide a detailed interpretation of the relevant sections concerning e-cigarettes in the newly revised law, hoping that all viewers will familiarize themselves with the law and adhere to the bottom line.
 
Here are the detailed provisions:

First, the requirements for guardians of minors:
 
Parents have greater responsibilities; they cannot encourage their children to smoke, and if they find their children smoking, they must take action.

Next, the requirements for businesses and smokers:
 
We will highlight three key points from Article 59:

First, e-cigarette outlets cannot be set up "near" schools. The exact distance of this "near" has not been precisely defined, but it can be roughly determined to be 100 meters.

The distance stipulated in the 2015 "Beijing Smoking Control Regulations" is 100 meters. Tong Lihua, vice president of the China Tobacco Control Association, hopes that the "Minor Protection Law" will clearly prohibit the sale of cigarettes and e-cigarettes within 100 meters of schools. "When the Beijing regulations were formulated, the discussed distance was 200 meters, but someone from the tobacco department proposed 50 meters, so the final regulation was set at 100 meters. I believe that after the revision of the Minor Protection Law, local legislation will continue to pay attention to this issue."

Second, if it is difficult to determine whether someone is a minor, they should be asked to present identification. Selling without verification is no longer acceptable.

Third, smoking and drinking are prohibited in places where minors gather. Next time you take out a cigarette, be sure to observe whether there are many middle and primary school students around.

Finally, the specifics of penalties have been clarified:
 
We can see that there are no fines for parents violating the law; the main fines are aimed at businesses.

Violating Article 59, Paragraph 1, which prohibits selling tobacco to minors, can result in fines based on the severity of the situation, with a maximum fine of 500,000 yuan.

Violating Article 59, Paragraph 2, which prohibits smoking in places where minors gather, can result in fines of up to 500 yuan for individuals and up to 10,000 yuan for venue managers.

Starting tomorrow, selling e-cigarettes to minors will not only be a matter of moral awareness and industry self-discipline; it is now a significant issue written into national law, and penalties for violations will have legal backing.

All viewers must remember the law and implement it diligently.